On the face of the ask, securing five out of a possible six points this weekend was an admirable effort from Wellington Dukes.

In a condensed timeline and facing the opposing squads the Ontario Junior Hockey League scheduler set them up with, the results put forth by the local Jr. A squad was downright starry.

Playing three games in less than 48 hours is never an easy assignment for a junior hockey team. Playing a bitter rival, the league’s best outfit and then a road game partway across the province in a span of 43 hours could be considered Herculean considering the time of year and what’s at stake for the locals.

On Friday at Lehigh Arena, Wellington (32-11-5, 69 points)  polished off the Trenton Golden Hawks 6-3 to claim their first Hasty P’s cup, a memorial season series against their Bay of Quinte rivals launched three seasons ago. Wellington still has one visit to make to Trenton but claimed the cup prior to the finale by way of two regulation wins and an overtime victory through four contests.

The following night, Wellington hung tough in Toronto whilst playing the vaunted Junior Canadiens-the nationally ranked outfit that boasts just four regulation losses through 48 games.

Wellington would trail 1-0 late but an extra attacker power play goal off the stick of Barrett Joynt with 20 seconds left in the game lifted the Dukes into a 1-1 tie.

Overtime solved nothing and the contest marked the first time since Nov. 20 the Baby Habs played a game at the Scotiabank Pond and took away less than the full two points available.

On Sunday, Wellington was off to Caledon to make up a game originally scheduled for last month.

After taking on nationally ranked Toronto, the Dukes had little trouble getting the offence into high gear early as they sunk the Admirals 10-1.

“We just got better as the weekend went on and that’s what you like to see this time of year,” Dukes Head Coach Derek Smith said. “With around 1,000 people at the game on Friday, there was an incredible atmosphere and the players fed off that. On Saturday, we had lots of chances to pull ahead in that game but to come out of there with a point in a great battle was a good sign and then we closed it out with a complete effort on Sunday.” 

On Friday, Wellington and the Hawks played to a 1-1 draw through the opening period before the locals got to Trenton starter Ben Bonisteel in the second.

But prior to three straight Dukes goals, it was Jacob Osborne successfully staring down a David Fournier penalty shot attempt at the 9:01 mark of the second while Wellington was on the power play.

The play eventually returned up ice where Luke Lapalm spotted David Campbell cruising to the slot area and a tap in for the Sault Ste. Marie native at 9:50 pushed the locals ahead 2-1.

Wellington kept pushing and the Dukes were rewarded after consistent offensive zone pressure as Matheson Mason tipped home a Joynt feed from the half wall just 55 seconds later.

At the 15:11 mark, it was Campbell double dipping in the frame as he gained the Trenton blue line and used a couple of slick moves to cut across Bonisteel’s crease and lift the puck over the prone Trenton goalie to make it 4-1 Dukes.

The Golden Hawks had a response just 29 seconds later as O’Marra beat Osborne to make it 4-2 heading into the intermission. 

In the third, the OJHL’s most prolific power play unit put the game out of reach.

Joynt would be lurking in the slot and fired an Edward Moskowitz feed past Bonisteel at 9:25 for his second man advantage marker of the contest.

The Golden Hawks had a power play goal of their own off the stick of Matt Cato to get the game back to 5-3 but Moskowitz salted the game away with an empty net power play tally of his own with just 15 seconds left in the game.

Dukes defender Julien Jacob picked up an assist on the play and, when combined with a helper the following night in Toronto, has 51 points on the campaign. With half a dozen games left in the season, Jacob trails Quinn Hanna and Elliot Richardson who are tied for second place for most points by a Wellington blue liner in a regular season with 57. Jacob needs six points to tie and seven points to eclipse the mark.

“Julien has come over from Trenton and logged some very big minutes for us this season. There’s been a maturation process and he leads our team with a +42 rating,” Smith said.

After taking 82 minutes in penalties in just 27 games with Trenton last season, Jacob hasn’t exactly avoided the sin bin this season but his 60 minutes is more in line with a rugged, top tier OJHL rearguard who knows how to play effective defence without the extra curricular trips to the box.

“He’s been able to keep that intensity level up-he’s a warrior- but there’s been development and discipline and he’s been able to excel offensively in our system,” the coach added.

Wellington needed Jacob and the rest of squad firing on all cylinders Saturday night in Toronto to make a game of it against the top flight Canadiens and the club enjoyed a massive effort in goal by Osborne.

The Gloucester, ON native made 34 stops, many of the spectacular variety as the game remained scoreless through 40 minutes of play.

In the third, the hosts had the ice breaker as Hayden Heinrich beat Osborne in the seventh minute of frame to make it 1-0 Toronto, a score which lasted into the final minute of regulation.

With time ticking down and the Dukes on a power play to finish the game, Smith elected to yank Osborne for a 6-on-4 advantage. With just 20 seconds left in the game, Luke Strickland and Jacob teamed up to feed Joynt for his 20th of the campaign to make it a 1-1 contest.

The score stayed static through the 4-on-4 and 3-on-3 overtime periods and a 1-1 tie was how the game ended.

On Sunday, Wellington was in Caledon and went to the net early and often as a 10-1 laugher was just what the doctor ordered for the road weary group.

Ethan Morrow picked up his second win for Wellington on the weekend with only a Dan Nau shorthanded effort at 4:30 as the solitary blemish on the Kingstonian’s afternoon outing.

Wellington got goals from Strickland (2), Moskowitz (2), Ryan Smith, Jacob Vreugdenhil, Mason, Jared Langdon, Lapalm and Jack-Henry Lages.

The Dukes managed a 2-for -5 outing on the power play and host the league’s best overall man advantage goal mark at 64 and the best power play percentage at 29.36 per cent.

“We feel like there’s another level to get to and the guys we picked up at the deadline are now just starting to gel and build that chemistry,” Smith added. “We know there’s a dog fight ahead of us no matter where we finish in the standings but it’s about getting better every day and every time out.”

Wellington hosts Cobourg on Friday and Caledon on Sunday afternoon.