Tough luck

Dukes forward Ben Sokay is a gifted puck handler, particularly in tight quarters. This talent has helped him amass 33 points, including 19 goals—second only to linemate Luc Brown.

Winning streak ends rudely

Some losses are deserved—either through lack of effort, discipline or talent. But the Wellington Dukes had plenty at their disposal on Friday night— certainly more than their visiting opponents the Pickering Panthers. Yet, the Dukes dropped a 5-4 decision—their first loss in nine games. To Pickering.

Sometimes it is just bad luck. The Dukes made two bad giveaways late in the game on Friday; both resulted in goals and ultimately the outcome of the game. But the Dukes never should have been in the position of fighting from behind. Not to Pickering.

The Dukes’ Luc Brown scored the first of three on the power play early in the first period. But Pickering responded with two power play goals of their own in the frame. In the second, Brown score again—top corner—so tight the puck had to push the netminder aside to squeeze past. But before the period was done, Pickering had taken the lead again.

Now it must be said that Pickering boasts a handful of skilled forwards who can be roused for certain games, but the team struggles to win more than a couple games in a row.

They came to play in Wellington on Friday.

So the Dukes went into the third period, down a goal—but still believing this would be a win when the final whistle blew. It should have been.

The script was playing out nicely midway through the period when stay-at-home rearguard Jacob Hethrington whistled a shot chest high through traffic on net, beating the Pickering netminder and tying the game at three.

The game had shifted. Wave after wave of Dukes swarmed the Pickering zone.

Then the first bad giveaway. Poor communication between the Wellington netminder and defencemen behind the Dukes net resulted in the Panther forechecker scooping up the loose puck. He tossed it to his linemate standing before an empty net. Pickering had the lead again. It was too easy. An early Christmas gift.

A moment later, the Dukes and their fans had to relive the humiliation. In his mind, the Dukes’ forward likely imagined a slick lateral pass to his linemate exiting Wellington’s end with speed. But the forechecking Pickering player imagined the same thing—stepping into intercept the puck. A heaving blast and the Panthers suddenly had a two-goal lead with just over two minutes remaining in the game. The guy with the cymbals and sparkling jacket packed up his gear.

The Dukes pulled the netminder, and Brown scored his third of the game, but that was it. There was no last-minute salvation. It was tough luck that ended the Dukes longest winning streak of the season.

The Dukes acquired the rights to Nicolas Mucci from Carleton Place last week. Mucci earned two points in his first two games with the Dukes—including a great second-effort goal against Georgetown on Saturday.

A DRAW
In Georgetown on Saturday night, the Dukes tangled with both the Raiders and the on-ice officials. The Dukes’ troubles had begun before the puck dropped—as forward Dylan Mascarin was assessed a 10-minute penalty for violating warmup rules. The Dukes, working to cleanse their palate of a bitter loss, came out strong on the road. But it was the Raiders striking first.

But then newly acquired forward Nicolas Mucci, working on a line with Chase St. Aubin and Tyler Burnie, tied the game—on his knees—scooping up his own rebound and flipping it over the Georgetown goalie.

The second and third periods followed the template. Georgetown scored. Then Ben Sokay made a slick move in close on the netminder to tie the game. In the third, Brendan Jacome scored his third goal for the Raiders before the Dukes responded to tie the game again. Brown scooped up the loose puck on the wing near centre ice, skated a couple strides into the Georgetown end and rifled a shot past the netminder.

Brown’s celebration proved too much for the sensitive officials, seemingly unaware the chirping sounds went both ways. Brown was penalized for taunting.

In overtime both teams had chances to win the game, but neither could capitalize. With 12 seconds left in the second overtime, the referees sent Sokay to the penalty box for crosschecking. Cross-checking is a call that could be made a hundred times in a game. It is used mostly to calm overly exuberant checkers or where the infraction is particularly egregious. It is a bizarre call to make in overtime—particularly when neither situation applied. The Dukes survived the final seconds of overtime and escaped with a 3-3 tie. But coach Marty Abrams had had enough, lighting into the referees. His feedback wasn’t well received. For his troubles, Abrams must sit out his team’s game in Buffalo tonight.

UP NEXT: A LONG CHRISTMAS BREAK
The Dukes head out on the road for their final games of 2015. Tonight, they travel to Buffalo to take on the red-hot Junior Sabres. Winners of their last six, Buffalo leads the West division with a comfortable margin over Georgetown.

On Sunday, the Dukes travel to Pickering before splitting up for the holidays. The Dukes will be looking to avenge their loss on Friday and end 2015 with a win.

WORLD JUNIOR A CHALLENGE
Both Brown and Sokay have been selected to try out for Team Canada East, participating in the World Junior A Challenge that gets underway with exhibition games this weekend. Wellington will host two exhibition games on Friday. At 3 p.m., the Czech Republic will face off against an OJHL all-star team including Jacob Panetta, Justin Bean and Dylan Mascarin and coached by Marty Abrams. At 7 p.m., Team Canada East will take on the defending champions, Team USA. Tickets are $10 or $15 for both games.