So it begins

Olivier Lafreniere was solid in his return to the Dukes net on Friday night. The 20-year-old looks to carry the bulk of the load this season.

Dukes emerge from preseason ranked number 3 in Canada

Cobourg deserved a better fate. The Cougars were down 2-1 late in the game against the Wellington Dukes on Friday night, after leading most of the game. Cobourg’s top line were pressing, while the Dukes chased the puck in their own end. Twice the Duke defenders failed to clear the puck out of their own end. Exhaustion was creeping in. Poor decisions followed.

Then, Dukes defenceman Ben Rogers won the puck out of a scrum deep in the Wellington corner. He found a seam and fired the puck out of his zone, just as the Cobourg netminder was streaking to his bench— looking to send an extra attacker to help tie the game. Rogers’ shot sailed past the stranded netminder, caught in no-man’s land, skidding directly into the middle of the empty net.

It would be both unfair and inaccurate to characterize the Dukes’ success in the preseason by such serendipity, yet that is surely what the Cougars must have been thinking as they boarded the bus in Wellington on Friday.

And then to see the next morning that the Wellington Dukes are currently ranked third in the nation by the CJHL.

of any team in exhibition games. So many new faces. New combinations. To be sure the 2018/19 Dukes looks to be fast, smart and structured. They will be anchored solidly in net by Olivier Lafreniere in his final junior year. Andrew Rinaldi and Daniel Panetta will set for breakout seasons. Zach Uens will refine his cannon from the point. After that, all bets are off.

There is certainly a ton of new talent—Elijah Gonsalves, Madoka Suzuki, Tyler Gilmour, Keenan Eddy, David Paluch and Matt Poole have all shown flashes of skill and determination. Dalton Bancroft has proved proficient around the opposing team’s net.

There have been lapses in the Dukes own end, but there always is at this time of year, as players learn their assignments and to develop trust with their linemates. So that will come.

In any event, a new season begins on Friday in Wellington, as Cobourg returns to Wellington seeking a better fate.

DUKES 3 – COBOURG 1 PRESEASON
This was always going to be a tough game. Cobourg is a proud franchise and likely had the day they faced the Wellington Dukes—the RBC Cup Finalists—marked on their calendar for a while.

Tyson Gilmour hunts for the loose puck around the Cobourg goal.

The Cougars came with speed and toughness. Physical but not careless. They got on the scoreboard early. Some confusion on the Dukes’ part about who was to take the puck and who would take the player. In that split second of indecision the puck was tucked around Lafreniere. Cobourg would hold this lead until midway through the final period.

One worrying bit. The Dukes power play sputtered through the first two periods. Five times the Dukes had the man advantage—once a two-man advantage—but it all amounted to nothing. Few good chances, even. In fairness, the Cougar penalty-killing effort was strong—ably keeping the Dukes boxed out of the the slot area, and taking away the cross-ice passing lanes.

But persistence paid off. Midway through the third the Dukes were working on their sixth power play of the game. Rinaldi and Gonsalves moved the puck well, along with their defensive partners. Then Gonsalves found a seam, sliding the puck to Bancroft parked in front of the Cobourg net. Redirect. The Dukes had tied the game.

The Dukes now had the pace. The Cougars were staggered. A moment or so later, Matt Poole won a tough battle along the wall in the Cobourg zone. He skated away to some open ice and fired a shot, just above the wobbly glove hand of Jacob Hearne. The Dukes led for the first time in the game.

And with the Cougars pushing to tie the game, Rogers long shot found the Cobourg net.

UP NEXT: COBOURG AND GEORGETOWN
After the Cougars visit on Friday night the Dukes welcome, on Sunday afternoon, the Georgetown Raiders—the team the Dukes defeated to win the OJHL Championship last season.