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Olivier Lafreniere has been a steady and reliable tender when called upon this season. In seven games he has a 2.68 goals against average and a respectable 0.918 save percentage—good enough to be ranked 10th overall in the league. This photo shows the 16-year-old in action at home on November 14 as the Dukes defeat Georgetown 5-1.

The Dukes look to launch late season charge

The Wellington Dukes start a new year with a fresh slate, a bad bout of the flu and a gaping hole in net.

The Dukes head into tonight’s home game against Aurora still clinging to the eighth and final playoff spot in the northeast conference, with just 19 games and seven weeks remaining in the regular season. The Dukes are just two points ahead of Pickering and two behind Newmarket. Though the arithmetic leaves many scenarios still open, it seems likely these three teams will battle down the stretch for the final two spots.

Sunday’s game against Buffalo was postponed due to the threat of weather. It has been rescheduled for February 4. Meanwhile, the Dukes will be back in action tonight against the OJHL leading Aurora Tigers. It is unclear whether Dukes coach Marty Abrams will have a full complement available at gametime. The team has been wracked for several days with the flu.

The Dukes will also be without netminder Tyler Welsh. The 19-year-old did not return to Wellington after the Christmas break. The load switches, for now, to 16-year-old Olivier Lafreniere. The Ottawa 67’s pick has looked sharp when called upon—but it is likely too big a responsibility for a player his age.

With the January 10 trade deadline looming, it is expected the Dukes will be shopping for a new netminder. The team might have preferred to use its few remaining roster cards to pick up some help on defence or a goalscorer—and those talents are being auditioned this week—but the team will now have to burn a card on a netminder.

Notwithstanding the impact of the flu on the team’s roster, tonight’s match will be the first opportunity in a month for the team to play together. Through much of December, sniper Abbott Girduckis and defenders Jacob Panetta and Brody Morris skated in the World Junior A Challenge tournament.

Aurora is coming off an overtime loss to the Toronto Lakeshore Patriots on Saturday. They will have played Lindsay last night before they take to the ice in Wellington tonight.

On Friday, the Dukes welcome the Kingston Voyageurs to Wellington for their second and final regular season visit. The Dukes defeated Kingston twice in December, and will be looking to extend the streak in front of their hometown fans.

On Sunday, the Dukes travel to Milton to face the IceHawks. Milton has eked out just two wins since the Dukes beat them 2-1 in late November.

There are still many lingering questions as the Dukes reset to take aim at a playoff spot.