On a roll

Dukes putting pieces together

Justin Bean’s second goal of the game pierces the Pickering defence and flies by the netminder—giving his team a 4-1 lead.

It has been a roller coaster ride for both players and fans of the Wellington Dukes so far in the 2014-15 season. So a pair of wins on the weekend are a welcome swing in the Dukes’ fortunes. Less certain is whether this weekend marks a break in the pattern or the rise before the fall.

In any event, it was a good weekend for the Dukes—a win in a strange game in Lindsay— and a solid win against Pickering at home in Wellington.

Four minutes into the game in Lindsay and the door fell off for the Dukes. Literally. The door to the Dukes’ bench came off its hinges. Arena crew were summoned. Dukes and Muskies retreated to their respective benches for the repairs to take place. After several minutes waiting for repairs, the Dukes netminder Taylor Welsh lifted his cage and unclasped his chinstrap. That, according to the OJHL rulebook, is a violation M 62. Under the new policy, adopted earlier this month, Welsh was given a 10-minute misconduct penalty.

When the game resumed, the Muskies sent a parade of players to the penalty box for a variety of the I-can’t-catch-you, so-I-will-tryto- slow-you-down transgressions: clipping, holding and slashing. However, it wasn’t until a Muskie was penalized for kneeing late in the first period, that the Dukes opened a lead for the first time in the game when Marco Azzano scooped up the loose puck on a Andrew Coupland shot from the point.

Two minutes into second period, Lindsay tallied to knot the game at a goal apiece. Later in the period Ben Sokay scored on a set-up by Nick Devito and Griffin McCarty.

The Dukes widened their lead when forward Luc Brown scored from Azzano and Justin Bean.

The refs stayed busy, sending a procession of players from both sides to the penalty box. The most troubling was a scrum involving Brandon Kosik midway through the last period. Falling backward to the ice, Kosik was assessed a kicking penalty, carrying with it a four-game suspension.

The Muskies pressed and scored shortly thereafter. They continued to push—but the Dukes, and netminder Welsh, closed the door.

Ben Sokay had a strong weekend moving the puck well and playing smart heads-up hockey.

The final score wasn’t quite as lopsided as it was on October 5, but the two points were just as sweet.

Josh Supryka score twice and assisted on another to lead the Dukes to a 7-3 thumping of the Pickering Panthers on Sunday night in Wellington. The 2014 Panthers are a much improved team than past entries, and so far this season Pickering is producing a winning record. They are older too—15 players are aged 19 or older.

The Dukes are younger and much faster. On this night, speed overwhelmed size.

Matters got off to a rocky start for the Dukes when an innocent Pickering shot from the blueline fluttered like a butterfly—chest high—past Welsh, his view obscured by a gaggle of red jerseys between him and the shooter.

A setback, just 90 seconds into the game, but the Dukes brushed it off and got back to work.

They exploded for three goals in the first period, the most spectacular being a one-time bullet on the power play from Bean on the face-off dot, cleanly beating the netminder.

The Panthers swapped netminders. It made no difference—44 seconds into the second period, Bean scored again on the power play from the blueline. Midway through the period, the Panthers scored two—one a badangled shot that slipped between Welsh and his post, the other a redirection in front of him. He had no chance.

The Panthers sensed new life. The Dukes were tagged for too many men on the ice. Killing a penalty, McKeown intercepted a pass and skated up the wing—deftly passing to line mate Abbott Girduckis, joining him on the rush.

Girduckis doesn’t miss these gifts.

Supryka scored his first of two before the period was done. He added another in the third to seal the win.

600 WINS
Sunday’s win marked 600 victories behind the bench for Dukes coach Marty Abrams since taking the reins in 1999.

The win total includes 458 regular season contests plus an additional 142 playoff games. His first win as a Dukes coach came on September 17, 1999 with a 7 – 2 victory over the Peterborough Bees. This is his 14th season as coach of the Dukes (he spent two intervening seasons with the Ontario Hockey League) and his ninth as the general manager. During his tenure, the team has amassed an incredible record of success, including two remarkable trips to the RBC Cup.

LINEUP
Mascarin has been dealt to the Fort Frances Lakers of the SIJHL. The Dukes have, in turn, acquired the rights to Port Stanley native Will Cook. Cook played Junior ‘C’ in Aylmer, and Junior B with the Elmira Sugar Kings. He moved to Coquitlam BC to play Junior A before being traded to Langley at the beginning of last season. The 20-year-old is heading back to Ontario with this trade to Wellington. He is expected in the Dukes’ lineup when North York visits Wellington on Friday night.

UP NEXT: NORTH YORK AND ORANGEVILLE
The Dukes need to put together an extended winning streak to get back in the hunt in the OJHL. To do this, they must build on wins over middle-of-the-pack teams like the North York Rangers and the Orangeville Flyers.

Both these teams feature high-powered offence with league-leading snipers, Gabriel Valenzuela and Lucas Smilsky, respectively. But neither team has proven as adept on the defensive end of the ice.

Orangeville has been on a bit of tear in recent days, however, edging past both Georgetown and Kingston in their home rink.