Solid showing

Dukes come up short in battle against Trenton

The rink was packed—an odd mix of OJHL fans, Drake Barnburner participants and early voters. All available parking was consumed, and cars were strewn liberally throughout the wider neighbourhood.

On the ice, the atmosphere was heavy. The Dukes had lost their fifth straight game on Friday night. But this was Trenton. The evil empire. Number one in the league, number two in the nation, populated by three former Dukes players.

Plenty of yellow and black festooned the standings (what else is there to do in Trenton?) Many of their fans had made the short commute to Wellington.

The Dukes skated out in their traditional red jerseys. Gone for this game was the giant, placeless D—back was the best logo in the OJHL. The Golden Hawks donned their bumblebee yellow and black outfits.

When the game got underway, both teams gave their all. Close checking. Fast-paced. Neither side giving an inch. After defenceman Ryan Castle rang the post after a brilliant rush, the best scoring chance in the first period came from the Golden Hawks while shorthanded. Jacob Brown made a sensational save, stretching his leg unnaturally to seal the far side of the net.

Early in the second, the Dukes were on a power play when Jared McNeil found Zander Latreille cross-ice with a crisp pass. Latreille found the gap between the Trenton netminder’s foot and the goalpost. The Dukes had the lead. It was short-lived. Four-on-four, Devin Mauro rattled a sharp-angled shot over Brown’s shoulder. Game tied.

The game started to get away from the Dukes. The Golden Hawks were slowly taking control. Then, a brutal giveaway at Wellington’s blueline resulted in Trenton’s goahead goal. But the Dukes were still game. Wellington managed to kill a long two-man advantage (91 seconds) for Trenton. With the kill, there was a fresh jump in Wellington’s step.

It went back and forth this way until midway through the third. A Trenton defenceman’s high, hard wrister slithered through bodies, finding the top corner of Brown’s net. 3-1 Trenton. Tough goal.

With Brown on the bench for an extra forward, Ryan Schaap found Ethan Murray. Murray’s sortof- one-timer found the back of the Trenton net, drawing the Dukes within a goal of tying the game, with more than two minutes to work with.

But then another tough giveaway at the Golden Hawk blueline. Nobody back. Empty net goal. Trenton would add another. The final tally, 5-3, did not reflect the possibility of a different outcome.

Yet, the Dukes acquitted themselves well—making their fans proud.

UP NEXT: NORTH YORK AND AURORA X 2
Just three games remain in the Dukes regular season. Wellington will have played the Rangers by the time you read this story. They travel to Aurora for a makeup game on Thursday. On Friday the Dukes host the Tigers in Wellington for the final game of the regular season.

Currently, the Dukes seem destined to play the Stouffville Spirit in the first round of the playoffs.

The Dukes experienced the Spirit on four occasions this season, winning the first two and dropping the more recent games. OJHL playoff action begins March 7.