Mid-season form

Wellington Dukes veteran Cam Yuill puts the puck past Peterborough Stars goaltender Tanner Davis during the second period of Friday night’s game.

Dukes winners in five of last six games

Peterborough was an important test. Vaughan was an even bigger one. When this season is done fans may well look back at the second-last weekend in October as the point the Dukes really began to forge a winning team.

The Stars are mired in last place in the East Division with just a couple of wins. But Peterborough isn’t a bad team—more a mediocre team in a high-powered division. They have some strong talent—including former Dukes defencemen Cole Murduff and Michael Montford patrolling the blueline. But in recent weeks the Stars have begun to make some noise.

The Wellington Dukes provided fodder for the Stars’ first win of the season late in September. Then, last week, the Stars surprised the leagueleading Trenton Golden Hawks, handing them only their second loss all season.

No one was taking Peterborough for granted on Friday night.

For the Dukes, Friday provided the first game audition for new netminder Tyler Marble, acquired earlier in the week from the Humboldt Broncos, hosts of the RBC Cup next spring. Marble passed the test. He was steady and poised when called upon—particularly early in the game.

His new teammates did their part— skating hard and creating pressure at both ends of the ice.

As the period wore on the Dukes began to gain the advantage in scoring chances. That’s when Cam Yuill saddled up on his own blueline and carried the puck deep into the Peterborough zone—then jammed the puck on net. It would take several more whacks before linemate Jeff Stanton would bury the puck and put the Dukes on the scoreboard.

The team’s success in recent weeks is due in large measure to the much-improved play of Yuill and Stanton. It hurts not that they skate on either side of the league’s leading scorer Darcy Murphy.

In the second period the Dukes blew the doors wide open, scoring four unanswered goals—a pair from Jan Kaminsky and one each from Erick Delaurentis and Yuill.

Guarding a 5-0 lead the Dukes largely hemmed in the Stars in their own end in the third. That is until defenceman Elliott Richardson found open ice and took the puck deep into Stars territory. Richardson tossed a textbook backhand pass to Anthony Taylor waiting in the slot. Taylor hammered the puck top shelf. The helpless netminder could only wave as the puck sailed into the net.

In his debut between the pipes Dukes goaltender Tyler Marble made 28 saves and came within 3 minutes of a game shutout.

Then with just a minute left in the game Peterborough scored twice to rob Marble of the shutout—that second goal a cannon from Cole Murduff.

Nevertheless it was a solid win—in a game the Dukes had to win to continue to build the confidence that has been slow to emerge this season.

“We played well for 60 minutes on Friday night,” said Simon Bessette, Dukes’ captain. “That is the key to success with this team. We kept our feet moving and kept the pace up for the entire game. We let up a little at the end of the game and they scored two quick goals. It was a good reminder of how dangerous teams in this division can be if you let up the pressure.

“It was important to keep the momentum—we’ve now won four of our last five games and the guys know what it takes to win and win consistently.”

It helps too that the Dukes are scoring from all four lines.

“We have had a more balanced attack lately,” said Bessette. “This makes us very difficult to defend against—they can’t just key in on one or two lines.”

DUKES 4 VAUGHAN 1
Darcy Murphy scored three times on Monday night, his hat trick propelling the Dukes to a 4-1 win over the Vaughan Vipers on the road. The Dukes were outplayed in the large rink in the first period—giving up several scoring chances including a disheartening short-handed goal.

But as the game wore on, Wellington’s defensive game tightened up and new netminder Mike Doan proved a very capable puck stopper in a very large (6 foot, 5 inch) frame.

In the second period Murphy scored his first goal off the face-off—snapping a shot high short side. A moment later Elliott Richardson’s wrist shot from the blueline fooled the Vaughan netminder and wobbled into the net. Late in the third period with the Vipers pressing, Braden Kavaratzis and Murphy mounted a rush with some open ice. Murphy finished, sliding the puck underneath the Vaughan goalie— giving the Dukes a two-goal cushion.

Then with time ticking away and the Vaughan net empty—Captain Simon Bessette carried the puck up the wing. Rather than take a shot, the captain slid the puck to Murphy who scored his third goal of the game.

With that goal Murphy became the leading scorer in the OJHL.

Dukes Captain Simon Bessette (left) backs up forward Jan Kaminsky who scored 2 goals in the 6-2 win over Peterborough on Friday.

Doan earned a solid road win in net for his new team. It seems for now the Dukes have found the netminding they need to consistently win hockey games.

NUMBER 6
There were times last season when Elliott Richardson decided to head up ice— Dukes fans held their breath fearing another turnover or worse. Not so this season. A combination of confidence and better support from his teammates on the ice has seen Richardson blossom into a potent offensive weapon and a sturdy and mostly reliable defender in his own end.

Currently Richardson is second in scoring on his team behind only Darcy Murphy, and third overall among all defencemen in the OJHL.

Richardson was named the Dukes player of the month for September and continues to produce at a torrid pace.

“Elliott has really stepped up this season,” observes Captain Bessette. “We lost a lot of defence strength this season with Curtis Leonard and Rusty Hafner going to college programs. Richie has taken the leadership back there—creating scoring opportunities and taking care of the puck in our zone. The rest of the team is doing a good job of filling in the zone when Richie finds an opening. He is having a great year.”

UP NEXT: TRENTON AND LINDSAY
The streets of Wellington may be eerily quiet on Friday night as the Dukes travel to Trenton to face off against the Golden Hawks.

Trenton has seen their grasp on first place weakened in the last 10 days as the Golden Hawks won a squeaker in Whitby and then lost three in a row—to St. Mikes, Peterborough and Vaughan.

On Monday, Trenton regained the East division lead with a 6-5 win over Cobourg,

Trenton coach Jerome Dupont will have his team ready and primed to face the Dukes on Friday night.

Wellington on the other hand will be looking to extend the team’s winning streak and move up in the standings. Trenton, at this point, is just another rung on the way up the ladder.