Unsettled

Dukes skate to a pair of draws. That is where the similarity between these games ended

It was easily the most thrilling game in Wellington this season. And an excellent Pumpkinfest weekend crowd was on hand to enjoy it.

DUKES 4 – HALIBURTON 4
The Haliburton County Huskies are a big skilled, and dynamic team. They have a lot of offensive weapons, a disciplined team defence, a brilliant transition game and a hulking 6-6 goaltender who can swing his legs from goalpost to goalpost quicker than I can type this period.

The Wellington Dukes, however, were on a mission. They had lost to the Huskies in Minden a couple of weeks earlier and were keen to level the ice. They did this with hard work— relentless hard work. But when they made a mistake, Haliburton made them pay. They had to turn it up to 11.

That this game was different from others was evident from the moment the puck dropped. High speed, tight checking and thrilling action. Both ends, though the Dukes earned the better chances in the early going. With some pressure, Haliburton worked the puck low. Shot off the Dukes defender. Tough goal.

But it wasn’t long before Jacob Julien sniped a shot from the wall, top of the circle, short side top corner. Huskies netminder doesn’t allow much daylight, but Jacob found some.

But a miscue early in the second puck gave the Huskies back the lead. The Dukes’ defenders got crossed up, moving the period out of their end. Turnover. In the Dukes’ net.

The Huskies turned up the heat, hemming the Dukes in their zone. Low shot. Past Jacob Osborne for a two-goal lead. Wellington bounced right back. In a tight spot in the mid-slot zone before Haliburton’s Aidan Spooner, David Campbell slid a smart pass over to Jaxen Boyer, who whipped the puck past the Huskies’ netminder.

Undisciplined play by the Huskies gave the Dukes a series of power play opportunities, but it was not until Wellington had a two- man advantage that Edward Moskowitz wired a shot under the blocker arm of the Haliburton goliath— tying the game at three goals apiece.

But Haliburton regained the lead with a power play goal—a low shot, perhaps redirected.

With the clock winding down, the Dukes dialled up the intensity. With Osborne on the bench, the Dukes’ captain Jacob Vreugdenhil won the faceoff in the Haliburton zone. He, along with Campbell and Moskowitz, moved the puck around. Clean passes. Back to Vreugdenhil. Shot. The game was tied.

Both teams had chances in overtime, likely none better than Campbell’s breakaway—but nothing was settled. The game ended in a tie. Which felt about right.

DUKES 3 – ST. MIKES 3
After such a mighty tussle on Friday, it was a more humble affair on Sunday afternoon. The Buzzers aren’t the Huskies—and the Dukes struggled to muster the intensity found against Haliburton.

Indeed, St. Mike’s took the early lead in this match. Moments later, the Dukes responded— Zander Latreille beating the Buzzers’ netminder Jacob Gorinsky on a penalty shot. Before the period was done, Lucas Lapalm gave the Dukes the lead on a power play goal from David Campbell and Jacob Vreugdenhil. That should have been enough. But the Dukes let St. Mike’s off the mat in the second, allowing two Buzzer goals on the power play.

Nearing the end of the period, Jaxen Boyer fed Will Mitchell. The young Kingston native notched his second goal of the campaign.

For the next 23 minutes, the Dukes peppered Gorinsky. Two overtime periods—with each team taking a penalty—provided no break. The game ended tied. Sunday afternoons.

UP NEXT: TRENTON AND MILTON
The Dukes welcome Trenton to Wellington for their first match this season. The Golden Hawks have won three more games than the Dukes have this season but have also played three more games. Trenton has managed lower-ranked teams but struggled against Toronto Junior Canadiens, Haliburton and Cobourg. The game start is 7:30 in Wellington.

In a crossover game, the Milton Menace, in second place (but best winning percentage) in the NorthEast, welcome the Dukes on Sunday. Milton’s lone loss so far came in overtime against the conference-leading Collingwood Blues. The 6:30 game in Milton will provide an early measure of how the Dukes will fare against NorthEast opponents.

Edward Moskowitz broke free with the puck while on the penalty kill early in the first period. The Huskies’ netminder Aiden Spooner managed to turn his shot away. But Moskowitz later beat the giant netminder and set up Jacob Vreugdenhil’s game-tying goal.