Split

Dukes eke out a win and a loss
Story and photo: Kevin Scanlon

Tough to say what makes a good team play below its proven level of excellence. But there were excuses galore last week. Maybe the Dukes were having trouble getting used to new teammates after the previous week’s trade deadline. Maybe it was the oddity of playing a rare Wednesday night game in front of a smallish home crowd. Maybe it was a 50-50 pot barely over $200. Maybe it was hardly enough pucks to really call it Chuck-A-Puck. Maybe it was hockey enthusiast Rick Conroy not being on hand to document the game. Or maybe it was a simple case of fourth-place Wellington playing down to a ninth-place opponent that would end up 29 points behind them in the standings at the final buzzer.

A Saturday afternoon tilt in Haliburton would see the Dukes force the third-place Huskies to double overtime before losing the game.

DUKES 4 – LINDSAY 2
The Dukes got off to a sloppy start in this one. For the first 15 minutes, there were numerous errant passes and missed checks, although the home team did outshoot the visitors 12-6. They came to life on the power play at 15:41 when captain Cory Jewitt scored off a goalmouth scramble. Lindsay challenged the play, claiming the puck had been gloved into the net, but the goal was upheld after video review and Wellington had another power play following the delay of game penalty.

In the second period, Ryan Schaap took a pass from Jewitt and scored on a hard shot from between the faceoff circles. The Muskies got one back with five minutes left in the period. Wellington kept intense pressure on Lindsay after that goal until Sasha Trudel poked a loose puck into the net. But referee Marco McRae couldn’t see that the puck was loose in the crease after sliding between the goalie’s legs so he blew his whistle, nullifying the goal. Then, with only 17 seconds left, Lindsay scored to tie the game.

After some words of encouragement from the coach between periods, there was little doubt as to which team would come out on top when the Dukes roared into the final frame, outshooting the Muskies 18-7. Finally, at 11:24, defenceman Ryan Castle fed a perfect pass from behind the Lindsay net to newcomer Jayden Levesque who fired a shot just under the crossbar for the lead. Schaap scored his second of the game and 20th of the season into an empty net on a breakaway with four seconds left.

DUKES 4, HALIBURTON 5 (2OT)
Before the game was eight minutes old, Haliburton had a 2-0 lead. But the Dukes fought back with goals from Ben Vreugdenhil and newcomer Zennon Edwards to tie it before the period ended. A goal by newcomer Carson Littlejohn in the second and Ryan Schaap’s 21st of the season on a power play in the third period gave the Dukes a 4-2 lead. Unfortunately, the Huskies got one back midway through the final period then tied it with just over a minute left while the Dukes were shorthanded. In the first five-minute overtime, Wellington controlled the play, outshooting the Huskies 5-0. But Haliburton took the win with Chase Lefebre’s second of the game at 4:14 of the second overtime. Overall the home team bombarded the Wellington net with 51 shots.

DUKES AT MARKHAM ROYALS
This Tuesday game finished too late to make The Times’ deadline.

UP NEXT: TORONTO, NORTH YORK, ST. MICHAEL’S
The Dukes will play three home games in four days this week. On Thursday night at 7:30 p.m., they host the Toronto Junior Canadiens who are in second place in the East Division of the OJHL. On Friday night, the last-place North York Rangers will be at Lehigh Arena for a 7:30 p.m. start. Then on Sunday, the sixth-place St. Michael’s Buzzers will be here to play at 2:30 p.m.

The weekend will also feature the Dukes Parents celebration on Saturday with a special dinner for parents visiting from across Canada and the United States, together with players, billets, volunteers, staff and sponsors.