Shaking it off

Ben Sokay gets set for a faceoff in Whitby on Sunday.

The Dukes must look past a tough weekend

The fire has dimmed to barely an ember now. Perhaps it is just the weariness of three road games in three days. Yet rarely have we seen this faraway expression in the eyes of the Dukes players. It’s a look that telegraphs a sense that they’ve exhausted all their options. All their wells of energy and creativity are dry. The pace slows. Shoulders slump. Passes don’t connect. Smaller players get pounded along the boards. It’s a cycle that feeds on itself until the will to push harder is extinguished.

We’ve seen it plenty in the body language of visiting teams playing out the string, rolling over in their minds how a season that began with promise has turned so sour. But this is not an expression Wellington fans have recently witnessed of their hometown team.

It is mid-January. There is still time to shake this sense of desolation—to find their speed again. To restore the feeling of urgency. Of intensity. There is still time, but not much.

After losing two of three games on the weekend, the Dukes have slipped below .500 again. They remain in the eighth and final playoff spot, simply because Pickering is playing worse and Lindsay checked out months ago.

The Dukes played all weekend without Andrew Coupland, who was injured in the Dukes 7-1 win over Milton a week ago Sunday. Coupland is, by a wide margin, the Dukes’ most reliable and steadiest defenceman on this team. His absence this weekend could scarcely have been more pronounced. Cool and level-headed Coupland can always be counted on to provide a stable presence in the Dukes’ zone. He doesn’t thrash around when his team is scored upon—rather he simply digs deeper, works harder. He serves as a calming force for his entire team.

Without him back there this weekend, Wellington’s opponents scored in bunches. On Friday, St. Mike’s scored 18 seconds into the game. Two and half minutes later, they scored again. The match wasn’t three minutes old and the Dukes were trailing 2-0. The next night, the Dukes led the game 3-1 late into the second period. But then the Dukes gave up a goal. Then another one, 26 seconds later. The Dukes were reeling. They could not find their balance. Georgetown would go on to score four unanswered goals to take control and eventually win the game.

On Sunday, the Dukes gave up the first goal midway through the first period. Thirty-four seconds later, it was 2-0. It wasn’t the netminder’s fault. Without Coupland, the Dukes defence simply lacks the grit, experience and confidence to shake off setbacks. The Dukes appeared to be mounting a comeback after a scoreless second period. Luc Brown scored, making it 3-1 early in the third period. But then another Whitby goal. Not done yet, young Dukes defender Jacob Panetta scored, drawing the Dukes to within two goals.

A few minutes later, Joe McKeown and Will Cook were ushered to the penalty box for unsportsmanlike conduct. Emotions were uncorked. Referees were to blame for the pounding the Dukes were receiving.

The Fury scored on the power play. The last bit of Dukes intensity evaporated into the air of the empty arena. The Dukes stopped skating. Whitby scored three unanswered goals in the next three minutes, to the mild approval of their two dozen fans. By now, the Dukes were simply watching the clock, hoping to limit the damage until they got on the bus back home. It was a quiet ride to Wellington.

UP NEXT: TRENTON AND STOUFFVILLE
The Dukes must shake off a miserable weekend and prepare for an important test at home this Friday when they welcome the Trenton Golden Hawks back to Wellington. The Golden Hawks are back on top of the OJHL leader board, having won their last 11 games—a streak begun on December 19 when they beat Wellington 8-0 in Trenton.

A win against Trenton is not nearly as important as the need to restore equilibrium, composure and intensity to the team. It is a real possibility the Dukes will face Trenton in the first round of the playoffs. They will want a good effort on Friday to show they won’t be rolled over and pushed around. The hometown fans will be there to show support.

On Sunday, the Dukes host Stouffville in Wellington in the first of two matches with the Spirit in the regular season. Stouffville has a lock on second spot in the North division and is unlikely to catch Aurora in first. The Spirit is a mercurial team—rising to beat powerful teams like Aurora and Georgetown, but sinking to a loss against the woeful Burlington Cougars.