Rugged Dukes defenceman Jacob Hetherington battles through two Cobourg forwards behind the Dukes net while Tyson Teichmann keeps a wary eye on the outcome.

Dukes peaking at the right time

Atrio of wins over the past seven days has propelled the Wellington Dukes within spitting distance of first place in the East Division of the OJHL. In doing so, it sets up a key game this Friday against the divisionleading Kingston Voyageurs.

With just eight games left in the regular schedule for the Dukes, the outcome of Friday’s game will likely have a lot to say about where the team finishes in the East Division race.

Wellington has already proven it can win the big games. Friday night, the Dukes handily defeated the Cobourg Cougars 7-3. Prior to Friday’s match, Cobourg had won eight of its 10 previous games—including a 9-2 win over the Dukes.

So there was a hint of retribution in the air at the Essroc Centre on Friday night. Fans could instantly sense an extra intensity from their team. The skating was faster. The checking was tighter and the playmaking was smarter.

Perhaps the prettiest, and most illustrative, play happened very early in the game. Joe McKeown, Abbott Girduckis and Mike Robinson have arguably gelled into the Dukes’ best twoway line. In their first shift of the game, Girduckis forced a Cobourg forward to cough up the puck in the neutral zone. Suddenly four Dukes were heading into the Cobourg zone against one lone defender. Robinson carried the puck down the wing. He looked at McKeown skating with him. Then Girduckis. Then he passed to defenceman Chad Thibodeau who had joined the rush. The Cobourg netminder, Nathan Perry, had no chance in stopping the bullet from Thibodeau’s gun.

It was good start.

Mike Robinson has seven points in his last four games, including a goal and a pair of assists in the Dukes’ win against Cobourg on Friday.

A moment later, however, a puck Tyson Teichmann had stopped, dribbled over the line. That was the call. The Dukes weren’t going to be stopped on this night. Trevor Cope tipped a brilliant blueline shot while on the power play, restoring the Dukes lead. In the second period the Dukes broke open the game with three unanswered goals from Robinson, McKeown and Parker Wood. Woods goal was likely the hardest one for the Cougars to bear.

Perry made a relatively easy stop. Then he lifted his glove for his nearby defender to scoop it and clear the zone. But the Cobourg defenceman didn’t get the message. With the puck sitting in the crease—Wood swooped in and tapped it into the net. Cobourg scored in the last few seconds of the second period, narrowing the score to 5-2. But the Dukes responded with goals from Erick Delaurentis and Luc Brown in the third. Cobourg’s Mason Marchment, cousin to Jake, scored his second of the game late in the period. By then the outcome was clear.

The Dukes had successfully nullified the lopsided loss in Cobourg two weeks earlier. More importantly, it served to help the Dukes gain ground on Cobourg— narrowly ahead of them in the East Division standings.

It also made Monday’s game against Whitby that much more important.

The Fury, too, are ahead of the Dukes in the East—though with a poorer winning percentage and fewer games left to play. On Monday, both Whitby and Wellington understood their opponent that night stood between them and the East Division crown.

The first period was mostly a see-saw battle— neither team willing to give up an odd-man rush. Josh Supryka gave the Dukes the lead in the first period. In the second, Dukes captain Erick Delaurentis scored a pair of goals three minutes apart to extend the home town team’s lead.

Whitby got on the scoreboard late in the period on the power play with Alex Carnevale in the penalty box. (So far in eight games with the Dukes, the 19-year-old Carnevale has no goals, a pair of assists, but 34 minutes in penalties.)

The Fury scored another midway through the third period, narrowing the Dukes lead to a goal. Wellington held firm. Teichmann was solid all game long—spectacular when he needed to be.

Dukes defenceman Chad Thibodeau fires a bullet at Cobourg netminder Nathan Perry as Trevor Cope is poised to pounce on the rebound. Thibodeau has been named Dukes player of the month for January.

UP NEXT: KINGSTON
The Voyageurs are hot. They’ve lost just one game in their last 11. They’ve emerged on the losing side of just two games since the Dukes dismantled them in Wellington in the first week of December. They are ranked ninth overall in the country, and, by most accounts, favoured to win the East Division.

But to do so they will have to quell the uprising from Wellington. They will also need to prove to themselves they can win against the Dukes. Wellington was the winner of two of three head-to-head matches so far.

If Kingston is truly to be considered a contender— they will have to prove it on Friday night in Wellington.

The Dukes meanwhile have a head of steam. They are playing intense, tough and smart hockey—peaking at the right time.

SIDELINED
Dukes sniper and playmaker Mike Soucier was hurt on Friday night in a tangle of legs with a Cobourg defender. Soucier didn’t dress for Monday’s game.

BY THE NUMBERS: KINGSTON VOYAGEURS

Story: David Brown

There are 22 teams in the Ontario Junior Hockey League (OJHL) and six of them entering February have winning percentages of .700 or higher. With the league divided into four divisions, it may seem odd that four of those teams are playing in the East Division. If you happen to attend the Dukes game on Friday, you will see two of these elite squads as the Kingston Voyageurs make their final regular season visit to the Essroc Arena. The Cobourg Cougars and the Whitby Fury of the east, the Aurora Tigers in the north and the Toronto Lakeshore Patriots of the south are the other teams in the exclusive club. The west is the only division without a member.

When the Voyageurs last played in Wellington in early December, the Dukes came out on top 5 to 1. Since then, Kingston has played 13 games (prior to Monday night) without a regulation loss as they’ve won 11 and had two overtime/shootout losses. Number 17 Brandon O’Quinn leads the team in power play goals while number 22 Alex Tonge is top guy in power play assists. In the important category of game winning goals, number 94 Spencer Green leads the way. Alex Brooks-Potts and Sam Tanguay share duties in net.