Tough weekend in Vermont

Cody Gratton was acquired in the off season from the Cambridge Winter Hawks where he was the team’s leading scorer with 58 points. Dukes fans hope the 19- year-old forward will bring his scoring prowess with him to Wellington. In the Dukes lone win in Vermont on Friday morning Gratton scored late to tie the game against the Bay State Breakers. He then scored in the shoot-out giving the Dukes the win.

Dukes look for a fresh start with regular season opener this Thursday on the road

First the bus got lost in the Eastern Townships and then the team dropped three of four games, but otherwise the weather was nice and scenery lush for the Wellington Dukes’ weekend in Vermont. It was a performance the team will have to shake off this week as it gets ready to begin the regular season on the road.

It was a good thing the bus departure time was moved ahead to 7 a.m. last Thursday. It took the Dukes eight hours to travel to Jay Peak—about 100 kilometres southeast of Montreal. It is a distance that is typically travelled in less than six hours. But the roads south of the border become narrower and fewer particularly as the Adirondacks twist through the region.

By the time the Dukes arrived at the Jay Peak arena there was just enough time to warm up. The Dukes were handily beaten by the Boston Junior Bruins 5-1,

Machalski was in net.

Then the Dukes got back on the bus to travel the hour and half to South Burlington. The next morning they faced the Bay State Breakers where they eked out a 2-1 shoot-out win over the Rockland Massachussets squad. It would be their only win of the weekend.

Dukes stats guy David Brown was vacationing nearby and managed to see his team win. He noted the age disparity between the Dukes and the Bay State team.

“I happened to be at the arena early and saw the Breakers step off their bus,” recounted Brown. “Every player looked like he was 22 or 23 years old. Then the Dukes bus pulled in and most of the players looked like they were 16 and 17.”

Dukes netminder Adam Woods was strong stopping all but one shot. Late in the game it looked as though the Dukes tied it, but the ref waved it off as a high stick.

“Just when you thought the game would end 1-0 for the bad guys, Cody Gratton scored a beauty to tie the game.”

Gratton was the only player to score in the shoot-out earning the Dukes the win.

“Sixteen-year-old Maurizio Colella played a very physical game and caught one of the Bay State players with his head down and drilled him with a clean check. Plymouth Whalers draft pick Patrick Kudla and Mike Soucier impressed me, while everyone played a sound defensive game. This will be how they’ll have to play until they figure out their scoring touch,” observed Brown.

Later that afternoon they faced a very strong New Jersey team, dropping that decision 2-0.

The next morning the Dukes faced the Middlesex Islanders. They played to a three-all tie in regulation time—but lost in their second shoot-out in the four-game tournament. The Dukes got back on the bus and were home in time for dinner on Saturday—perhaps for some, the highlight of a lost weekend.

A NEW SEASON BEGINS
Now the Dukes get ready to open another campaign. On Thursday the Dukes travel to Kingston to take on the Voyageurs in their season opener.

The Dukes and the Vees split two pre-season games each game won by a single goal.

On Friday night the Dukes travel to Trenton to face the Golden Hawks in a game that will likely see a large crowd of Dukes fans in attendance. Deprived of hockey in Wellington for the first two weekends of the new season many will motor north across the swing bridge to assess the Dukes of 2013/14—particularly against rival Trenton.

Then on Sunday evening the Dukes visit Pickering in the first of two regular season games with the North Division squad. Pickering earned a win in its first game against Burlington, but fell to the Nik Coric and Cam Nicoll-led Newmarket Hurricanes.

Both Coric and Nicoll have made a strong early impact on their new team. Coric has four goals in three games while Nicoll has scored three goals and earned assists on three of Coric’s markers.