Revealing

Dukes must find an answer to the fast break

The Wellington Dukes are putting an exciting brand of hockey on the ice this season. Employing a run-andgun style at breakneck speed, the Dukes are racking up wins—enough to put them at the top of the OJHL East Division standings.

Like past Dukes teams, these young men are lightning quick and abundantly skilled. Most work hard every shift, exuberantly finishing checks and battling with flourish in the corners and along the wall.

The Dukes are, however, a young squad. Nine players on this team weren’t born when the third millennium began. They are also slight. Averaging just over 180 pounds. It makes them fast—but vulnerable.

Ben Evans provides cover as Teddy McGeen converts a Mitchell Martan pass for the Dukes’ game winning goal on Friday night.

Two of Trenton’s leading scorers—Rex Moe and Caleb Boman—both with points on Sunday against Wellington—tip the scales at 217 and 228 pounds respectively. The Golden Hawks play heavy. Slower than the Dukes, but punishing along the boards.

The toll is inevitable. It arrives in the form of turnovers. And turnovers reveal the Dukes’ Achilles’ heel—giving up the fast break. A weakness opposing teams are learning to tap.

Markham was particularly adept at exploiting this gap in the Dukes’ game earlier this month. All three Markham goals left netminder Creed Jones out to dry. A turnover in the offensive zone. A streaking forward behind the defence. A good pass. Breakaway. Goal.

Dukes netminders have faced too many such breaks this season.

Trenton coach Marty Abrams watched that Markham game from the railing around the Wellington rink. He saw how his new team could exploit the Dukes’ vulnerability.

ADVANTAGE ABRAMS
On Sunday, a strong crowd came out to salute Abrams return visit to the Wellington arena, and to reignite the rivalry between Wellington and Trenton. A noisy contingent of Quinte West residents also made the trip to Wellington to watch the game played in a beautiful arena.

The Dukes were under siege early. Nelson Powers mistimed a mid-ice check—flattening the Golden Hawk player. Abrams could be heard at the harbour “five minutes, five minutes.” The referees granted his wish. A fiveminute penalty to the Dukes.

But Wellington’s speed and fearlessness kept Trenton from setting up in the Wellington zone. Andrew Rinaldi beat his man trying to gain the zone along the wall.

He pushed the puck ahead, skated around the Golden Hawk player and powered up the ice on the left wing. One man back. Rinaldi’s shot caught the far corner, just under the cross bar. Brilliant shot. The Dukes had the lead on a short-handed goal.

Wellington managed to kill the remainder of the penalty, but then had to lean too heavily on its third and fourth lines. Trenton’s top line took advantage. Goal.

But then came a dubious call by the refs on a check by Keegan Ferguson. Tripping. It was aggressive own-zone coverage for sure—but hardly anything could distinguish Ferguson’s checking from a dozen other possible infractions in the game.

Trenton scored on the ensuing power play.

Captain Colin Doyle battles along the back wall against Trenton defenceman Cal Walker.

Early in the second period, captain Colin Doyle powered his way through traffic down the right wing, finding Teddy McGeen in the blue paint. Redirect. The score was tied.

Early in third, the youngsters on the Dukes third and fourth lines were still on the ice when Abrams rolled his top line out. In Wellington. Efficient passing play—and the puck was in the net.

Rinaldi, however, wasn’t done. He had a great game on Sunday—forcing turnovers and making the Trenton defence look foolish. In the third period, he stole the puck several times inside the Golden Hawks’ zone. The last time he fired and tied the game at three.

But by now the bruising was taking its toll. The Dukes began to look tentative.

New Dukes defender Mark Kennedy decided enough was enough, and squared off against Trenton’s Moe. In preparation for fisticuffs, Kennedy removed his helmet. That’s a major penalty in the OJHL. The refs stopped the fight before it began. Kennedy earned a game suspension.

Moments later, Trenton’s Zach Senecal lifted a pass to linemate Max Ewart streaking toward the net. Just as Markham had done two weeks earlier. One on one, Ewart lifted the puck over Jonah Capriotti’s shoulder.

That was the game. The Golden Hawks added an empty net goal to seal the Dukes’ fate. Playing a weaker hand, Abrams had out-manoeuvred his former team for the win.

FASTER, SMARTER, BETTER
Talented forwards Mitchell Martan and Teddy McGeen feasted on Panther on Friday night, earning four points each—McGeen with two goals and a pair of assists, and Martan with a goal and three helpers.

While the Dukes got off to a cautious start in the first, a slew of penalties enabled the Dukes to notch three power play goals. McGeen scored with his team shorthanded in the third. By then, the fight had drained from the Pickering team.

UP NEXT: ON THE ROAD
The Dukes continue to work through an odd schedule— one that will see them play three road games over three nights this weekend.

On Friday, they travel to Lindsay to visit the Muskies. The Fish are enduring another tough season, floundering with just two wins in 13 starts. That said, they have played better teams i.e. Markham and Trenton, closer than lesser teams. That makes the Muskies dangerous.

On Saturday, the Dukes head to Georgetown—likely one of the biggest tests of the Dukes 2017-18 season so far. The West Division leaders sport a similar record to the Dukes, but Raiders’ netminder Mario Cavaliere boasts an astonishing 1.68 goals against average as well as the best save percentage in the league.

On Sunday, the Dukes visit Pickering. The Panthers believe they are a better team than they showed in Wellington on Friday, night. They will be looking to prove it on the Dukes’ return visit. Discipline will likely determine the outcome of this match.