Inflection

Have the Dukes turned a corner on a bad October?

Maybe. Maybe the Dukes have stabilized after a rocky couple of weeks. While the weekend delivered just a single point, the team looked like a team for the first time in a stretch.

It was a week the team parted ways with a fan favourite, Kyle Kavc, but introduced two new players and welcomed back a grizzled veteran. Will Mitchell returned to Wellington wearing the familiar #19 jersey on Friday night. It is the 20-year-old’s third turn with the Dukes.

Liam Campbell scored in his first game with the Dukes. His dad played for the Dukes from 1996 through the ‘99 season. Landon Marleau is the son of Patrick Marleau, the NHL leader in regular-season games played with 1,768. Both Mitchell and Marleau come to Wellington after stints in the BCHL.

NEWMARKET 4 – DUKES 1
It was a closer game than the score or the shots-on-goal (41-17) would suggest. Royden Smith was brilliant in the Dukes’ net. Newmarket got up a couple of goals, one in the first, just as the Dukes returned to five-onfive after killing a penalty. The second Hurricane goal came 12 seconds into the second period.

The Dukes struggled to establish a presence in the Newmarket zone. Dump in. Chase. Puck out. Repeat. But midway through the frame, Sacha Trudel worked the puck loose from behind the Newmarket net. He found Campbell parked in front. Quick off his stick, Campbell potted the puck top shelf, far side.

In the third, the Dukes were on the power play when an errant pass across the blueline was intercepted. Breakaway. Newmarket scored shorthanded. In a heartbeat, the game went from plausible to heartbreaking. The Hurricane added an empty-netter to finish the scoring.

The Newmarket team is comprised of many former Toronto Junior Canadiens. They are a good team. They are older. More experienced. Bigger.

That the Dukes showed well against the Hurricanes through two and a half periods is a much better signal than losing to the North York Rangers.

DUKES 3 – BURLINGTON 3
Fifteen-year-old Nolan Hardy got the nod in the Dukes’ net on Sunday. The Cougars finally beat him early in the second period. Shortly thereafter, Ethan Murray and Christian Armstrong each scored to give the Dukes the lead into the intermission. Landon Marleau earned his first OJHL point on Armstrong’s goal.

But early in the third, Burlington scored to knot the game at two goals apiece. Moments later, Zach Mascard scored to put the Dukes out front once again. Once again, the Dukes couldn’t hold the lead.

The Cougars scored with three and a half minutes remaining in the game. Two overtime periods solved nothing. The game will be recorded as a tie. Baby steps, I suppose.

UP NEXT: BUFFALO, KING CITY AND PICKERING
The Dukes head to the US on Thursday afternoon to visit the Buffalo Junior Sabres. The Jr. Sabres are another middle-of-the-pack West Conference team.

On Friday night, the Dukes head to King City. (I hope someone at the OJHL offices squirms a bit when the Dukes must play a Friday night game on the road.) The Rebellion have a 12-4 record and sits in second place in the West Conference. King City have won their last six games.

On Monday night (of all nights), the Dukes welcome the Pickering Panthers to Wellington. Pickering sits in third place in the East, as measured by point percentage. The Panthers knotted the Lindsay Muskies 2-2 on Saturday.

In a scheduling update, all remaining Sunday home games in the season will start at 1:30 p.m. instead of 2:30 p.m.