Strong from the jump

Dukes dominate in pair of early season wins
STORY: JASON PARKS

Ayear ago and under the tutelage of rookie Head Coach and General Manager Jacob Panetta, the Wellington Dukes got the 2025-26 Ontario Junior Hockey League campaign off to a rip-roaring start.

Wellington won four straight and six of seven in September. This was in spite of a tumultuous offseason where rink rumours were rife the village might not even have a Junior A team to cheer for when the snow started to fly off the shores of Lake Ontario. Panetta’s late summer posting to bench boss and concerns over a tiny recruiting window seemed much ado about nothing.

As the sun firmly set on the summer of 2025 on the final day of September, the Dukes looked ready, willing and able to challenge for top spot in the East Conference.

Of course, fans all know October turned frigid and bleak in Wellington with a 14- game winless streak. Any early wind Wellington had captured in their sails dissipated. Rapidly. The squad battled uphill for the rest of the season, compiling a 27-20-9 record before the Pickering Panthers swept them up in the first round of the Buckland Cup Playoffs.

With last year’s early season experiences in mind, Panetta knows not to look too far ahead of a pair of opening weekend drubbings that Wellington handed to Lindsay and Toronto this weekend.

In front of a sizable partisan crowd on Friday, the Dukes found the Muskies goalline early and often, building a 4-0 lead through 40 minutes. Wellington squished the Fish 7- 1 in the home opener.

On Sunday, Wellington rolled into Toronto, blasting the rebranded Warriors 8-1 in a laugher. It says here neither Lindsay nor Toronto have designs on a 2027 Centennial Cup appearance so fans should take the results with a spoonful of sodium chloride.

But the Dukes did what was expected of them this weekend. That is, beat a pair of teams that will likely finish beneath them by the time the dust settles on the 26-27 regular season.

“The beginning of last season was a roller coaster for sure,” Panetta told the Times following Wellington’s dominating win over Lindsay. “With a full season under our belt and a summer where I’m not coming in, trying to build a team at the last second, it really makes you appreciate having a full off season to recruit and build a team properly.”

Putting the right amount of stock into Wellington’s wins this weekend makes for delicate measuring. However both wins come while the squad is decidedly shorthanded. Forward Ethan Murray tallied 35 points in 23 games last season and remains few weeks away from returning to the lineup. Top six forward Kasen Bietz, who had 10 points in 21 games for the Georgetown Raiders last season, is also on the shelf.

The Dukes are also waiting on a pair of international transfer agreements to be approved by Hockey Canada. Goaltender Dryden Riley started both games for Wellington this weekend. Fellow puckstopper Mason Raycroft, son of former Duke and NHLer Andrew Raycroft, is awaiting the okay to participate in OJHL play.

“You look at where our lineup will be in a few weeks and what was held out due to injuries and paperwork and, overall, we are happy where we are right now,” Panetta added.

On Friday, Wellington opened the scoring 6:19 in the game as Justin Doak fed Cooper Woron with a pass that sprang the second-year forward on a partial breakaway. The Dukes doubled that lead just under four minutes later when Landon Marleau picked off a cross-ice pass in the high slot area and zapped another low shot past Lindsay starter Milo Slayer for a 2-0 lead.

Wellington headed to the second intermission with a 4-0 lead thanks to a pair of goals from rookies Presley Kelly and Gavin Godick. But the middle stanza was hardly a masterpiece for the Dukes as the locals beat a path to the sin bin and made Riley toil in Wellington’s mesh mansion.

The Fish fired 15 volleys Wellington’s way in the second as the Dukes took three minors in the span of four minutes in the back half of the period.

The skipper lauded Riley’s work in the crease, calling the Trenton, ON native Wellington’s best penalty killer on the evening.

“He’s so sound and calm in the net and his ability to read the play and anticipate where the puck is going to wind up really sets Dryden apart from other goalies in this league,” the coach said.

Wellington sandwiched a Lindsay goal in the third with tallies from Sammy Longo, Ben Kerr and Brandon Mann. Lindsay’s lone bright spot was courtesy of County native Kaden Koutroulides at the 10:10 mark. The PECI alumnus made a slick backhand saucer pass from behind the net to the high slot where Mason Quinn busted Riley’s shutout bid. Wellington and Lindsay had 35 shots apiece and, while the attendance wasn’t announced or included on the game sheet, more than 750 were in attendance.

The Toronto Warriors may be new to the OJHL but the franchise is actually the semblance of last year’s Cobourg Cougars. Meanwhile, this year’s Cobourg Cougars are actually the relocated Haliburton Huskies. Confused yet?

Anyway, last year’s Cougars and this year’s Warriors seem to be on the same trajectory despite the move from the Cobourg Community Centre to Scotiabank Pond.

Wellington motored to a 3-0 lead over the opening frame and seemed poised to take a 5-0 lead to the dressing room for intermission before Henry Wang, a Cougar holdover from last season, finally solved Riley.

The Dukes tacked on three more in the third to win their second game of the season going away. Zach Mascard lit the lamp twice as did Tweed native Maclean Chisholm. The Quinte AAA grad has three points through his first two OJHL games. Kelly picked up his second goal in as many games while Blake Berthiaume and Marleau had singles. Rookie Reid Crossman chipped in with his first OJHL tally partway through the third.

The Dukes are in Mississauga tonight to play the Chargers. This weekend, the club gets a more rigorous test as the Newmarket Hurricanes blow into Heidelberg Materials Arena Friday night. Wellington then heads to Pickering to take on the newlook Panthers on Sunday evening.

HEADS UP AT HEIDELBERG
The NHL bloodlines run deep with the Dukes again as Messrs. Marleau, Berthiaume and Raycroft all have patriarchal connections to the big league. But this year’s edition of the Wellington Dukes also has a strong Belleville Bulls flavour. Cole Mulder’s father, Brent, is a former Bull who engaged in many-a-tilt at the Quinte Sports Centre in the mid ’90s. Meanwhile, Jacob Vellucci’s uncle Mike played two seasons with the Bulls and was a key cog in the club’s run to the 1986 OHL finals. Jacob Vellucci is the other Duke who is waiting on Hockey Canada paperwork approval. Defenceman Galen Shea was injured Friday night and could be on the shelf for a while. Kerr was called up from the Napanee Raiders for both games this weekend and notched a goal and an assist. Also picking up their first OJHL points this weekend were Mulder, Ryland Harvey and Oliver Coyle. Wellington grabbed Cole Mulder from Picton where the hulking defender was the Tod Division of the Year in 2025-26. Meanwhile, Cole’s younger sibling Tyler appears poised to follow in big brother’s footsteps. Tyler signed with Picton after a strong showing at Wellington’s training camp and will likely see action with the Dukes as a call up at some point this season.