Shut out

Anthony Popovich earned the Dukes’ first shutout of the season on Sunday at home in Wellington.

Young netminder gives Dukes a winning record

The Wellington Dukes escaped the gravitational pull of .500 hockey on the weekend, winning just their second game at home. The Dukes soundly handled the Lindsay Muskies in both ends of a home and away series—begun in Lindsay on Friday with 5-1 win and completed on Sunday with a 3-0 shutout victory for 16-year-old netminder Anthony Popovich.

With the back to back wins, the Dukes moved to within a point of the third place Cobourg Cougars in the East division of the OJHL.

The team has also been busy shuffling the deck—last week Nick DeVito (Amarillo), Jeff Christenson (Lindsay) and 20- year-old netminder Austin Washkurak (Burlington) were released. Winger Jordan Overland has returned to the Junior B Amherstview Jets.

These moves leave fewer players sitting in the stands, but also free up space for returning players, including Liam Hunter and Marshall Nikitin—both sidelined for the first part of the season with injuries.

The Dukes acquired Nitkin from Kirkland Lake over the summer, but he was injured early in September in a tryout with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds of the OHL.

Austin Labelle had a breakout night in Lindsay on Friday. After a strong performance in Boston in the summer, Labelle was injured in the preseason, taking him out of the lineup for five games. Upon his return, Labelle was used sparingly. But recently, he, Shaw Boomhower and Colin Doyle have been clicking. Labelle had two goals on Friday. Boomhower led the way with a goal and three assists. Doyle had a couple. Two of the three participated in every goal except the final tally—by Luc Brown—in the 5- 1 win over the Muskies. Olivier Lafreniere earned the win in goal.

Austin Labelle battles for the puck with Muskie defenceman Josh Wainman.

On Sunday, it was Popovich’s turn in net for the Dukes. Fortunately, his team was solid around him, largely keeping the scrappy Muskies shooters to the outside. Ben Sokay gets full marks for the first goal of the game. The skilled forward deftly navigated traffic and eluded defenders, skating from his own end and deep into Muskie territory. The puck came back to the point. Brown gathered the rebound from Hunter’s point shot, shovelling it to Sokay who swatted it home for the lead.

Later in the first, Hunter ventured deep toward the net, on the power play, found the loose puck and fired for his first goal of the season, giving the Dukes a two-goal lead. For two more periods the teams skated back and forth—the Dukes working as a unit to slow Lindsay’s progress. The game got scrappier. More a knife fight than an all out battle.

The only true threat the Muskies posed was when a pass deflected off a Dukes defenceman’s skate in the neutral zone. It bounced into no man’s land in the high slot above Popovich. The Muskie player had a clear breakaway with the time and space to plan his move. But Popovich was better.

The 16-year-old earned his shutout as the Dukes handed the Muskies their second loss in the home-and-away series.

According to Dukes statistician David Brown, Popovich now has a goals-against average of 1.76, third best in the entire OJHL. Both netminders ahead of him are 20-year-olds. His save percentage of .935 ranks him as fourth best in the league.

“Another 16-year-old goalie the Dukes had a few years back was Ed Pasquale who, despite leaving the team just before Christmas to join the Belleville Bulls, played enough to qualify for the lowest GAA in the league that year at 1.92,” said Brown.

BROWN BOUND TO JOIN THE DUTCHMEN
Luc Brown is headed to Union College next season, joining the powerhouse Dutchmen of the NCAA. Union won the Division 1 National Championships last season and in 2011. This season they are undefeated so far with two wins and two ties and are ranked 18th in U. S. College Hockey Online Poll.

The Napanee, Ontario native is now in his fourth season with the Dukes, having increased his offensive production each year. Earlier this month, he was recognized as OJHL North/East Conference Player-of-the-Month Runner-Up for September. On October 4, he had a fourpoint game in a 5-4 win over the Whitby Fury, which included his 100th career regular season point.

“It’s great to see Luc commit to Union College,” said Dukes GM and coach Marty Abrams. “Since his arrival to our program as a 16-year-old, he has put in the time and effort to improve himself as a player and now is seeing the rewards of all his hard work. As a previous winner of our team Scholastic Player of the Year Award, I have no doubt Luc will be a success both on the ice and academically.”

UP NEXT: NORTH YORK AND PICKERING
The Dukes welcome the North York Rangers to Wellington Friday night. North York currently sits atop the South division. In a September meeting, the Duke prevailed 3-1 over the Rangers.

On Sunday, the Dukes visit Pickering, currently third in the North division.