Not as it appears

Tenacious forward Cam Nicholl is creating chances each time he steps on the ice.

Dukes see a couple slip away

It wasn’t a good weekend. But it wasn’t that bad either.

The Wellington Dukes returned home from Cobourg on Monday night, winners in just one of their last three games. But neither of the losses was a blowout. Neither was an embarrassment. The Dukes were at least equal through four periods, maybe more. Moreover these teams—Aurora and Newmarket anyway—have been touted as the favourites in the OJHL this season.

The Dukes were beaten. But not by much. And while the losses sting right now, the effort the Dukes put in will count later in the season.

“Our team is young and inexperienced but we are very hard working we are just not getting the bounces right now,” said Jan Kaminsky, the Dukes’ captain.

Whether it is bounces, bad luck or a team that hasn’t yet figured out how to win consistently yet, the Dukes players will learn from these games and will be stronger for it.

NEWMARKET 3 – DUKES 0
Newmarket came to Wellington on Friday with nine players aged 19 or older. The Dukes have just four that old. Most are much younger. But what the team lacks in experience, it works hard to compensate for with energy.

And for a period the Dukes and the Hurricanes skated up and down the ice—each earning scoring chances, each netminder making strong saves and the defence moving the puck efficiently out of their respective zones.

Early in the second period Newmarket’s Brycin Morrison scored to give his team the lead. The Dukes continued to battle but couldn’t beat the Hurricane netminder. Late in the third, with the Dukes pressing, Newmarket’s Calvin Higley beat the Dukes’ Andrew Pearson. The Hurricanes added an empty-net goal. The final two goals, while disheartening, masked the fact that this was essentially a one-goal game—one that could have gone either way.

But to win games like this the Dukes must get more pucks on net. The gamesheet recorded the fact that Newmarket had 41 shots on net; the Dukes just 21. This wasn’t an accurate measure of the game—but it did underline just how many Dukes shots sailed wide of the mark.

“I was one of the worst offenders,” admitted Kaminsky. “I took at least 11 shots but only hit the net about seven times. We need to work on hitting the net with every shot.”

Captain Jan Kaminisky battles through traffic to get to the “dirty area” of the ice—in front of the opposing netminder.

Kaminsky noted that he and his fellow forwards had to commit to installing themselves near the blue paint in front of the opposing netminder.

“We need to work on getting in the dirty areas,” said Kaminsky. “That is where goals are going to come from. The pretty goals will come after we can consistently bury our chances around the net.”

AURORA 4 – DUKES 2
On Sunday the Dukes welcomed the Aurora Tigers to Wellington. It has been over five years since the Tigers last made the trip to the County. It was April of 2007 when Aurora ousted Wellington in five games in the OJHL final. Prior to that series there had been plenty of history between these two teams.

Just like Friday, the teams skated to a scoreless draw in the first period, though the Dukes managed to get many more pucks on net than they had in the previous three periods.

Later in the second frame Kaminsky challenged the Tigers’ point man while killing a penalty. Kaminsky came up with the puck and charged up the wing. Craig Campbell was just a few step behind on the opposite wing and a lone defender between them. Kaminsky lifted a perfect pass onto Campbell’s stick, who deked the netminder but was stopped. Kaminsky whacked home the loose puck.

Just before the period ended the Tigers scored to even the match. After Aurora scored gaining the lead in the third, Cam Nicholl was swarming the net and at the right place to slide home a rebound off the back wall—tucking it neatly inside the post. But a couple minutes later a failed breakout resulted in a shot on net that eluded Lavigne. Before the Dukes could regroup, another shot from a sharp angle found its way past the young netminder on the short side.

Kaminsky was able put the tough loss in perspective. “We know the bounces will eventually come our way,” said Kaminsky. “This is a rough patch—but we have to guard against getting down. We have to keep our heads held high and battle through it.”

DUKES 4 – COBOURG 3
On Monday they did just that. A pair of goals by sniper Erick Delaurentis and an overtime winner by 16-yearold Brody Morris lifted the Dukes over the Cobourg Cougars on Monday night. Josh Finkelstein also tallied early in the game as the team managed a 4-3 overtime road win.

The captain credited his defence and goaltenders for three hard-fought games over the weekend.

“They have been doing a great job and they can’t be blamed for our losses,” said Kaminsky. “They just have to keep doing what they are doing—and keeping their confidence up. As forwards we need to show them we will support what they are doing and creating offensive chances.”

UP NEXT: STOUFFVILLE AND AURORA
The Dukes are marching through many of their North Division matchups in September. On Friday the Dukes welcome the OJHL champions Stouffville Spirit to Wellington. The Spirit bring a record of two wins and three losses to the Essroc Centre.

On Saturday the Dukes travel to Aurora seeking to even the series against the Tigers.