Sideways

Dukes are hot and cold early in February

The Dukes appear to be crabwalking toward the end of the regular season. With their ticket punched to the postseason and hobbled by a succession of injuries, Wellington gave away two of three games last week. Even in winning, the Dukes are being forced to fight from behind. Nothing is coming easily.

HALIBURTON 4 – DUKES 0
The Dukes found themselves trailing 2-0 after the first period last Tuesday at home. The Dukes were mustering scoring chances and were outshooting the Huskies. Yet they couldn’t finish.

Haliburton added two goals in the third. The Dukes kept up the pressure but could not beat the Huskies’ netminder.

DUKES 7 – COBOURG 4
In Cobourg four days later, the Cougars mounted a 4-2 lead near the end of two periods. But with time draining in the second, Sacha Trudel scored short-handed. His goal changed the course of the game.

The Dukes came out in the third with four unanswered goals. Kyle Kavc scored once and assisted on a pair of goals. Ethan Murray and Ryan Schaap each scored a pair of goals. Overall, it was a strong bounce-back win. On the road.

PICKERING 3 – DUKES 2
Which brings us to Sunday’s game against Pickering at home. A weird game. The Dukes controlled the play territorially for vast stretches of the game. Yet, while it is inaccurate to say the Dukes’ play was listless—since they were generating solid scoring chances—it appeared the team’s throttle was set at about 75 per cent.

Occasionally, Pickering, would find an open man behind the Dukes defence. Long pass, breakaway. The second of these breaks cost Wellington a goal. The Dukes rebalanced the ledger midway through the second as Ronen Mc- Farlane scooped up the puck behind his own net. MacFarlane built up a head of steam swooping down the right wing. He carried the puck deep. From there, Sacha Trudel took the puck to the net. Shot. Rebound. Cory Jewitt snapped home the equalizer.

The Dukes had retaken control of a game that should not have been in doubt.

But early in the final period, the Dukes’ defence sprung another leak. A long Pickering pass. Goal.

Falling behind didn’t seem to stir the requisite urgency. The Dukes were creating chances, but the Panthers were working harder in the corners and along the wall. And, to be clear, this is hard work. Harder in February. Harder still against a team fighting for a shot to play in playoffs.

Then, the Panthers scored a power play goal late in the period, spotting themselves a two-goal lead.

Suddenly, the Dukes were running at full throttle. With their netminder on the bench in favour of an extra-forward, Wellington swarmed Pickering. Ryan Schaap snapped home a loose puck in a scramble in front of the Panthers’ net. There were still 92 seconds left. The Dukes pressed. But they could not bury the equalizer. Too little, too late.

UP NEXT: MILTON, PICKERING, AURORA, TRENTON
The Dukes will play half their remaining eight regular-season games over the next six days. They will have played the Menace of Milton by the time this newspaper reaches you. Milton is a solid team currently perched in third place in the West Conference. The Menace have won three of their last five games, including victories over Leamington and Buffalo.

On Valentine’s Day, the Dukes aren’t likely to offer syrupy sentiments to the Panthers as they return to Wellington for the fourth and final time this season. The Dukes will look to set the record straight in this Friday home game. To do this, they must be ready to play from the puck drop.

The next night, Wellington travels to Aurora. The Tigers are struggling through a tough season winning just 10 of 48 games while allowing an average of 4.3 goals against. The Tigers beat the Dukes, 6-3, in October, but the Dukes bested the Tigers, 4-2, in November.

With a day off on Sunday, the Dukes return to action in Trenton on Monday night. Wellington will have little trouble rallying for this game despite the busy schedule. The Golden Hawks own the best record in the OJHL. Trenton, as of Monday, is currently riding a 12- game winning streak.