Rounding into form

Dukes win three, extend streak to five games

Sean Rudy propels a shot at Cobourg netminder Mathieu Cadieux on Friday. Rudy generated seven points in three games on the weekend including a pair of goals.

Three wins on the weekend not only helped to steady the Wellington Dukes after a rocky start to 2011, but the wins, against division rivals Cobourg and the red-hot Lindsay Muskies, also enabled the Dukes to secure a first-round bye in the playoffs set to get underway on or about Feb. 14.

The Dukes have just six games remaining in the regular season, three of these against the Kingston Voyageurs. All but one of the Dukes’ remaining home games will be played in the friendly confines of the Essroc Arena.

They began to look comfortable in the new rink on the weekend, making better passes and keeping the play to the outside in their own zone for the most part. Unfortunately, when that attention to detail lapsed, the puck found its way behind Dukes netminder Jordan Ruby.

The Dukes emerged from the weekend with three wins, extending the recent streak to five games.

REGAINING THEIR FEET

Joe Zarbo set the tone early on Friday night as Zarbo swept a slick pass through the slot to Darcy Murphy who lifted a shot high-short side to give the Dukes the early lead. The Dukes continued to move the puck well in the first period. With the Cougars still reeling from the first goal, Brian Bunnett’s lead pass found Murphy streaking down the wing. Asnap shot later the Dukes had a two-goal advantage. The Dukes it seems are still, however, vulnerable in their own end. When they got caught chasing the puck, the Cougars’ Jake Flegel centred a pass to the high slot where Evan Jasper fired a slapshot. Ruby caught a piece of the shot—but not enough.

A couple of minutes later the Dukes got lost in their own zone again, giving up the tying goal by Cougar sniper Blake Sexton. A pall fell upon the hometown crowd.

But this script was going to end differently than past games.

On his next shift Captain Sean Rudy carried the puck into the zone with determination. The Dukes moved the puck around well. Rudy took a feed from north of face-off circle and fired a howitzer on net. Zach Blake was on one side, Steve Evans the other. Blake picked up the rebound and slid it across to Evans who swatted it into the empty side of the net.

In the second period, the Dukes likely had their best defensive period in their new rink. They effectively kept the Cougar forwards at bay in their own end and moved the puck well in transition.

The Cougars managed to get 16 shots on net but most of these were from the outside and easily gobbled up by Ruby. When tested Ruby was game for a couple highlight saves.

The Dukes’ Cam Yuill came out in the second with something to prove. He sailed through traffic down the wing and rang a hard shot off the post, then had to chase the play back up ice. But Brandon Mcintosh gathered up the puck and made a tape-to-tape pass to Evans’s stick. Evans skated to the net, but instead of shooting, he slid the puck across to Yuill to tap in the puck. The Dukes had a two-goal lead and did not look back.

Later, Simon Bessette finished a textbook dump-andchase play with linemates Brian Bunnett and Zack Jones. Steve Evans added another in the third period—his third point of the night. Cougars scored late in the period but the outcome had already been decided.

FIXING THE RECORD

Steve Evans has been on a blistering pace in recent games, scoring a hat trick on Sunday night against Lindsay. Evans has six goals in his last three games.

On Sunday it appeared the Dukes might be taking two steps back. The Muskies, winners of their last five including a drubbing of the Dukes on Jan. 9, opened up a twogoal lead in the first period.

Wellington didn’t play poorly, but it was clear the Muskies were the hungrier team in the early going. This became particularly evident when Jeff Stanton coughed up the puck along the boards which turned into a two-on-one. The Muskies’ Steve Taylor fired high from in close, handcuffing Ruby in net for the Dukes.

The two teams battled hard for another period. Late in the second a Dukes forward and defencemen had a bead on Lindsay sniper J.P. Villeneuve streaking down the wing. Without support, Villeneuve fired a token shot that inexplicably found its way past Ruby for the two-goal lead.

Once again a lesser team may have folded. But not the Dukes. With a minute left in the second, and the Dukes on a power play, Steve Evans found a loose puck on a rebound and stashed it in the net. The Muskies got into more penalty trouble. A high sticking call and the Dukes’ newest defenceman Elliott Richardson scored to tie the game at two goals apiece.

A couple minutes later Zarbo caught the Muskies napping as he fired a long lead pass to Evans at the blueline behind the Lindsay defence. One-on-one Evans rarely misses even with good netminders like Luke Bierworth of the Muskies. He didn’t miss on this occasion either.

Then the brutal one. Lindsay’s seldom used defenceman Mitchell Buirsey decided to make his presence felt in the game by jamming his stick into the nads of Darcy Murphy. While Murphy lay writhing in pain, the play continued— the crowd screaming for a whistle. So it was that Cam Yuill decided to teach the Muskie player that some things are just not done. On top of taking a thrashing from Yuill, Bursey’s team was assessed a five-minute major.

Evans scored his third of the game on the power play. And, in a tidy spot of revenge, Murphy scored while on the same power play.

Five goals in total—all but one during the power play.

HITTING THEIR STRIDE

On Monday night, in a wild and woolly affair in Cobourg, the Dukes spotted the Cougars a pair of goals early in the second period—breaking open a 2-2 tie after the first period.

Trailing 4-2, the Dukes rallied with four unanswered goals in the period from Sean Rudy (his second of the game), Darcy Greenaway, Steve Evans and Simon Bessette. Brian Bunnett added an empty netter in the third to seal a 7- 5 win. Six different Dukes forwards participated in the scoring outburst.

UP NEXT: KINGSTON AND TRENTON

Jordan Ruby had little chance to stop the puck with Cobourg's Colbie Andrews draped over the netminder.

Kingston has demonstrated that it has the firepower to brutalize the lower ranked teams, seeming to revel in 10-0 romps against teams like Dixie and Pickering. But the Voyageurs have struggled against division rivals such as Peterborough, Lindsay and Cobourg.

The last time the Vees were in Wellington they handed the Dukes a 3-1 loss in the first game back for Wellington in January.

With three games against the Vees in the next three weeks, the Dukes will be keen to send a message that Jan. 7 was an aberration.

By the time Trenton rolls into Wellington on Sunday the Golden Hawks will likely have been mathematically eliminated from playoff contention. This could make them more lethal. With nothing left to lose Trenton will come to Wellington relaxed. They already know their fate. The Golden Hawks would like nothing better than to spoil the Dukes’ chances of finishing first in the division.

St. Mike’s learned the hard way on Sunday that Trenton isn’t to be taken lightly as the Buzzers lost to the Golden Hawks in overtime.

CLARIFICATION

In last week’s Dukes’ story, it stated that the Sunday, Jan. 23 game was to be against the Kingston Voyageurs. The Dukes faced the Lindsay Muskies on Sunday.

The Dukes will host Kingston on Friday, Jan. 28, at the DukeDome. Game time is 7:30 p.m. .