Statement

Dukes take five of six points on the weekend

It may prove to be a defining weekend in the Dukes’ 2022-23 campaign. Three games in three nights. The first against a reconstructed Trenton squad and hundreds of their boisterous fans. The next night in the bowels of Downsview against the league-leading Junior Canadiens. And finally, an afternoon match in Caledon against a gnarly and frustrated assortment of underachievers.

Wellington had shown a propensity to perform to their opponent’s level. This weekend, however, would require a commitment to go flat out for 60 minutes over three successive days. It was a tall request—but they were equal to the task—notching five of six available points.

It all means the Dukes have moved back within three points of Haliburton County in second place. Finishing in second likely means taking on St. Michael’s or North York in the first round of the playoffs. If they remain in third, the Dukes are likely to face the Toronto Patriots— a team the Dukes managed handily early in the season, but have not defeated in two more recent matches.

In any event, the Dukes’ season is now down to three more weekends. Much remains fluid until these games are in the books.

WELLINGTON 10 – CALEDON 1
It was not a given that the Dukes would romp through Caledon. The Admirals had just knocked off the Cobourg Cougars and the St. Michael’s Buzzers in two previous games. And this was the Dukes’ third game in three days. An afternoon matinee. Their second game on the road within 18 hours. The Dukes would have been excused for a slow start.

But that was sorted early. Captain Jacob Vreugdenhil led the way, scoring five minutes into the game. Followed by a power play goal. Luke Strickland finishing a Lucas LaPalm feed.

Early in the second, Caledon jumped on a bad pass while the Dukes were on the power play. A shorthanded goal. That ignited an eruption of Wellington goals—three Dukes goals in three minutes. Another at the end of the frame. Four more in the third.

LaPalm earned four points in the game. Strickland and Moskowitz notched a pair. Twelve Dukes’ players scored at least a point in the game. Among them, Corbin Roach, who earned just one assist—yet his unremitting energy surely set the pace in this satisfying victory.

WELLINGTON 1 – TORONTO JC 1
A mighty tilt—this was between teams that have deserved ambitions beyond the Buckland Cup. It was a defensive duel with netminders Jacob Osborne at one end, Chazz Nixon at the other, and a lot of commitment to structure and discipline in between. Both Toronto and Wellington have deep playmaking skills and the weapons to finish. Yet, both teams went up and down the ice for two periods, creating chances but being unable to capitalize.

Seven minutes into the third, the Junior Canadiens at last beat Osborne to take the lead. It felt like it might be enough. But with 90 seconds left in the game, Toronto was penalized for hooking. The Dukes pulled Osborne in favour of an extra attacker. A two-man advantage. With 20 seconds remaining in the game, Jacob Julien found Strickland low. Strickland across to Barrett Joynt. Joynt scored, sending the game into overtime. There the two teams reverted to structure—unwilling to give their opponent the easy route to the goal. The game ended in a 1-1 draw. Both teams, battered and worn—with notions they will see each other again in the playoffs.

WELLINGTON 6 – TRENTON 3
The Golden Hawks came to play on Friday night. With hundreds of Trenton fans in tow, they rolled into Wellington, eager to make a statement. They don’t think of themselves as a fifthplaced team. With the makeover in November, the Golden Hawks got older and tougher. They needed to make a statement against a cross-bay rival with whom they had struggled all season long.

And so the Golden Hawks screamed out of the gate—managing to keep the Dukes just a bit off-stride. But then a Trenton player slashed Julien Jacob streaking up the wall. Still, the Dukes struggled to get organized on the power play. But the puck came back to Jacob Dietz. Shot from the point. Barrett Joynt got his stick on it, and the Dukes had the lead.

But moments later, the Dukes were caught pressing too hard, giving up a two-on-one. Trenton scored.

Then a Golden Hawk penalty shot. Ethan Morrow forced the shot wide. Less than a minute later—the Dukes on the power play—Ryan Cutler moved the puck to LaPalm. Backpass through the slot. David Campbell was there to swat home the puck to restore the Dukes’ lead.

That sequence drained the Golden Hawks. The Dukes would not look back. Midway through the second, Joynt fired a hard shot from deep in the Trenton end along the wall. Matheson Mason swatted home the rebound.

Then the killer. With three minutes remaining in the third, David Campbell started from his own end. Campbell is a gifted playmaker and handy around the net— but he can seem a bit of a lethargic skater. He gives the appearance of drifting more than head-down skating. It’s a trick. One Hawk after another, Campbell skated toward confrontation before unleashing a burst of speed to elude the check, then dialling back a couple of gears. Three times he did this. Now alone, past all the defenders, he waited out the netminder and popped the puck into the net.

Trenton and Wellington traded a pair of goals each— but the Golden Hawks never again managed the sustained forecheck of the first period.

The Dukes scored on four of its five power play opportunities. Wellington has the best power play in the OJHL, scoring nearly 30 per cent of the time with the man advantage.

UP NEXT: COBOURG AND CALEDON
It is hard to know what to make of Cobourg in recent weeks. The Cougars have won just one game in their last five—including losses to Caledon and Lindsay. Yet, they have clinched a playoff spot and seem well-ensconced in fourth place behind the Dukes.

We are close enough to the finish line to expect the Dukes to be motivated to make a statement on Friday against the Cougars.

The Admirals return to Wellington on Sunday for an afternoon game. The proud Caledon squad will be looking for a measure of revenge for last week’s thumping.