Thriller in Trenton

Dukes forward Luc Brown

‘Best game of the season’

According to one fan who trekked to Trenton on Wednesday night—it was the best game he’d seen all season, perhaps a few seasons from the Wellington Dukes.

“Our guys dominated Trenton both in speed and physical play,” said Bill Wightman. “The smart kind of toughness,” he added.

By the end of the second period, the Dukes had a 2-0 lead—on goals by Ben Sokay and Tyler Burnie. The sixteen-year-old Burnie exudes more confidence and poise with every game.
The Golden Hawks, the nation’s number one ranked team, had after two periods, registered just 12 shots. Dukes netminder Olivier Lafreniere had stopped all of them.

The 2-0 lead stood until the six-minute mark of the third. A desperate Trenton team used a powerplay to press the attack—to get back into the game. While the Dukes killed the penalty—the Golden Hawks continued to press until Liam Morgan found the loose puck in a scramble, drawing within a goal of the Dukes.

Trenton continued to press for the equalizer, amassing more shots in the third than they had in the first two periods. Yet the Dukes held them off. But with three minutes remaining in the game—Trenton scored. Another furious scramble. Forty seconds later, however, Luc Brown fed Tyler Burnie, who scored his second of the game. The Dukes had, incredibly, regained the lead.

But 28 seconds later Trenton tied the game again. In overtime, both teams became a bit more cautious. Nothing in the first five-minute period. It looked like the game would end in an unsatisfying tie.

Then with 26 seconds left in the second and final overtime period, Ben Sokay and Luc Brown connected to score, winning this most amazing game.

LUC BROWN’S INCREDIBLE SEASON CONTINUES

Dukes forward Luc Brown has picked up right where he left off before the Christmas break—scoring four times, assisting on another, helping his team to a 6-2 win over Stouffville on Saturday night. Brown, after a strong performance in the World Junior A Challenge, returned to reclaim leadership of the OJHL’s points race in his first game back in 2016. Brown now has 58 points, three more than Kingston’s Anthony Rinaldi—even though Rinaldi has played four more games than Brown.

LINE UP

The Dukes picked up veteran goalie Sam Tanguay over the holiday break, from the Prince George Spruce Kings of the BCHL. The Beauport, Quebec native played two years ago in Kingston earning a stingy goals-against-average of 1.79 and a save percentage of .940 in 15 games. Last season he split the season between the OHL’s Sudbury Wolves and Prince George—two weak teams—and his stats plummeted. Tanguay, now 20, will be looking for a fresh start in Wellington. The Dukes are hoping the seasoned netminder will anchor a deep playoff run, alongside Olivier Lafreniere and youngster Anthony Popovich.

With the trade deadline of January 10 looming the Dukes may be in the market for secondary scoring. After the first line of Brown, Ben Sokay and Dylan Mascarin, the Dukes scoring depth falls off a cliff. The next three top point getters are all defencemen.

Nicolas Mucci has made a strong impact in his short tenure with the Dukes alongside Chase St. Aubin and Tyler Burnie. In five games with the Dukes, he has six points. Wellington fans would dearly love to see Colin Doyle, Shaw Boomhower and Austin Labelle break out in the new year. That is not an improbable prospect. All three have played well—hard-nosed, energetic hockey this season. And have learned to do so with discipline.

The Dukes need these lines to step up in this new year. It is far too easy for an OJHL team to shut down a one-line offensive threat, even one as talented as the Dukes first line, in the playoffs.

UP NEXT

Tonight the Dukes welcome Kingston to Wellington for just the third time this season. The Voyageurs won both previous matches by a 3-1 score. But the Dukes have been surging over the past few months. They now sit just 10 points behind the second-place Voyageurs.

It will be interesting, too, to see if the Dukes start netminder Sam Tanguay on Friday night against his former team.

Game time is 7:30 on Friday.