Subdued

Dukes let one slip away

Cobourg had all the fire. The Dukes had fumes. This state of affairs was upside down for Dukes fans in Wellington. On most nights, it is the Dukes who are faster. More intense. Unrelenting. Not on Friday.

Released from the grip of Jerome Dupont’s demanding coaching style—the new-look Cougars found another step on Friday. A bit more urgency. A bit more desire. Dupont and the Cougars parted ways earlier last month after a dismal start to his third season with the team.

Dylan Massie (25) beat Cobourg netminder Ethan Robertson clean, but the puck hit the far post and slid back across the line. The refs ruled Massie’s shot a goal, but later decided, correctly, that the puck had not crossed the goal line.

The Wellington Dukes, meanwhile, never found a higher gear. The pace was slower to start the game, and the Dukes played down to that speed. Forward momentum stalled repeatedly as passes went awry— too high, behind or into the feet.

Credit the forechecking Cougars, but that only goes so far. Everyone who has watched the Dukes this season knows they tend to play better at high speed. Forcing the play deep. Winning battles low and creating scoring opportunities.

Midway through the second period, the Dukes had mustered just nine shots on Ethan Robertson in the Cobourg net. Robertson is a good netminder—but you only need to be ordinary to turn away nine shots in 30 minutes of play.

It is tempting to suggest that a lack of discipline was the Dukes’ undoing on Friday. Eight power plays the Dukes gave the visiting Cougars. But none of the scoring—on either side—was done with the man-advantage.

Still, this game never seemed out of reach. Not until it was.

Matt Keeley had a terrific night in the Dukes net—with a series of sensational saves to keep his team in the mix. It wasn’t until the game was a quarter into the second period that a long point shot, tipped on the way, beat Keeley.

The Dukes were able to exploit a Cougars’ weakness on several attempts passing the puck from deep inside their own zone, up the middle of the ice to a lurking forward. On the third of such breaks, Brandon Brazeau was hauled down and awarded a penalty shot. But Robertson was able to make the desperate toe stop. And the Dukes remained scoreless.

As the second period was winding down, a good effort from Ryan Smith to dig the puck out of the corner enabled him to pass it onto Daniel Panetta’s stick near the goalmouth. Shimmy and shot. Five-hole. The Dukes were on the board, tying the game at a goal apiece. It seemed the Dukes might carry this momentum into the second intermission. But that didn’t happen.

Ten seconds after Panetta’s goal, the Cougars won the face-off the Dukes’ zone. With the puck teed up, the Cougars’ Jacob Gilbert blasted a low shot that eluded Keeley.

The Dukes turned up the pressure in the final frame. It would end up backfiring. One near-scoring chance in the Cougar end set up an odd-man rush headed back toward Keeley. Back door pass. Redirect. The Cougars had a two-goal lead.

A hard blast from just inside the blueline propelled Matt Keeley’s stick from his hand, flinging it across the ice. The Dukes squandered a strong game by their netminder on Friday, dropping their first game in 17.

Still, the Dukes created chances. And Keeley continued to make a series of highlight saves. But for Wellington on this night, the game was always just beyond their reach. Just beyond their desire. On this night. Wasting a strong performance by their netminder.

Sunday’s game against Aurora was postponed due to the storm that dumped several centimetres of snow on the region and created driving chaos on the 401.

UP NEXT: BUFFALO, BURLINGTON, AND GEORGETOWN
Dukes fans will find out this week whether Friday’s loss was a blip, or a symptom of a bigger issue. The challenge is that all three games are on the road—on the wrong side of Toronto.

On Wednesday, the Dukes are in Buffalo to face the 13-11 Junior Sabres. Buffalo has won four of its last five games. So this will be an important test. On Friday, the Dukes head to Burlington to take on the West Division number two team.

On Saturday, Wellington rounds out its West Division swing visiting the Georgetown Raiders who own a .500 record 11 wins and 11 losses.