Playoff ready

Dukes send a message to potential first round playoff opponents

While the Wellington Dukes fell short of defeating the putative East Division champions on Sunday, they did, however, deliver a clear and unequivocal message to the Cobourg Cougars: Be ready for a battle in the first round of the playoffs.

The Dukes have just a single regular season game left—as it happens—against their most likely first round playoff opponents, the Cobourg Cougars, next Monday afternoon. (Trenton is just three points back of the Cougars with two games against Cobourg this weekend. So, things could change.)

Elijah Gonzalves manages to navigate some tight spots with the puck—regularly with defenders whacking at him—as he dangles through traffic.

It was an intense and hard-fought game. The Dukes really had little at stake—they are locked into fourth spot in the East. They played, however, like a group of young men with something to prove. The pace was blazing fast from the drop of the puck to the final buzzer. The checking was close and the finish was personal. To a player, the Dukes played tough, responsible hockey.

Both teams played well enough to win. Both came a goal post away from victory in the final minutes of the third period. That it was the Cougars who emerged with the win in double overtime suggests this series has become unpredictable. That sense must surely have occurred to the Cougars as they pulled out of Wellington on Sunday night.

COBOURG 3 – DUKES 2 2OT
This was a thrilling match from the get go. The Cougars came out hard. So did the hometown Dukes. Both skating and both hungry for the puck. The Dukes had very nearly killed a penalty midway through the first period, when a Cobourg defender’s shot from the point pinballed off of three players in front of Logan Bateman and into his net. Lucky shot. Lucky goal.

It wasn’t until midway through the second that the Dukes beat Cobourg’s Deshahn Stewart. Power play. Elijah Gonsalves worked low. Fired into the crease. Dylan Massie took the pass in the blue paint, but rather than jam the puck into the netminder’s pads, he slid it a couple feet to his right. That’s where Tyson Gilmour was standing by to slam it into the open side.

Later in the period, an ordinary rush resulted in a shot from outside the face-off circle. Bateman misjudged it. The Cougars had the lead again. But by now the Dukes were taking command of the game. To be clear, Cobourg was still competing—but the hometown Dukes controlled the play.

Yet it wasn’t until midway through the final frame that Jacob Thousand gained the offensive zone. He worked the puck deep. Back to Tim Fallowfield. Shot. Andrew Rinaldi pounced on the rebound and the game was tied again.

Both teams had chances to end the game in the final minutes of the third—the distinctive clang of puck careering off of the goal post pealed at both ends of the ice. Yet it would take overtime to settle.

Again, both teams earned opportunities to end it. It wasn’t until nearly a minute into the second and final overtime period—three on three—that the Cougars’ rush got around the Dukes’ defence. Logan Bateman made the first stop from point blank range. But Nicholas Favaro got his own rebound. Goal.

It wasn’t the outcome Dukes fans had hoped for—but no one who watched this match went away disappointed. Their hometown team had demonstrated they were ready for the playoffs.

Tyson Gilmour grimaces as he unleashes shot on the St. Michaels netminder on Friday night.

DUKES 3 – WHITBY 2 OT
The Dukes visited Whitby for the final time of the regular season on Monday afternoon. Picton Pirates netminder Kyle Renaud got the start in net for Wellington in this game. Renaud gave a up a tough goal early in the game, but soon settled down, putting in a solid performance for the remainder of the game. A couple minutes after the Fury goal, Elijah Gonzalves danced between the Fury defence and potted a goal to tie the game.

That is where the game stayed until the back half of the third. The Fury had just killed a penalty when the Dukes’ Andrew Rinaldi ripped a shot through traffic, giving Wellington the lead.

Then, with just two and half minutes to ride out to the win, the Dukes took a penalty. The Fury pulled their goalie for a two-man advantage. A post. Then a goal. The game was headed for overtime.

But not before Whitby was assessed a minor for tripping. Four on three, the Dukes moved the puck around until they found a lane. Humberstone shot from outside the face-off dot. Daniel Panetta and Rinaldi were both positioned for the rebound. It was Rinaldi who jammed it home.

DUKES 3 – ST. MIKES 2
Friday’s match up against the St Michael’s Buzzers was a rather tepid event. Save for the final few minutes. While the Dukes served up power play opportunities repeatedly through the first and second period, St. Mikes’ offence failed to beat Logan Bateman in the Dukes’ net.

Late in the first period, Frank Vitucci, set up by Andrew Rinaldi, unleashed a cannon from the midslot area. The Dukes had the lead. The Buzzers bounced back with a pair of goals in the second period.

Early in the third, Dylan Massie forced a turnover. Gonzalves teed up Gilmour, and the game was tied. It appeared this match would be settled in overtime. With seconds left in the period, however, Dawson Ellis emerged from the scrum on the wall with the puck. Hard shot in close. Stopped. Adam Usinger was able to scoop up the loose puck and sweep it around the netminder. For the win.

UP NEXT: COBOURG AND THE PLAYOFFS
The Dukes play their final regular season game on the road next Monday in Cobourg. A week to refine some new line combinations and allow bruises to heal. Playoffs won’t start until February 27 at the soonest.