If the first few games of a junior hockey season are about finding the baseline of strengths and deficiencies, consider the Wellington Dukes well educated.

The local Jr. A club has a pair of lopsided wins to their credit and a loss they will likely be gnashing their teeth about for a little while.

Wellington (2-1-0) opened the 2024-25 Ontario Junior Hockey League season on the road in Pickering against the Panthers Sept. 8 and while it took a little time to see their offence really click, the visitor skated off with a 6-1 win.

On Sunday at Lehigh Arena they beat a path to the Markham Royals net early and often in a 8-1 drubbing. Much the same as the win over Pickering — get on a roll early and skate down hill over the final two periods.

But in between, Wellington was shaded by the visiting Toronto Jr. Canadiens 4-3 Friday night in the Dukes home opener. It was a frustrating night for the locals as they lost another game to the Baby Habs, the club that vanquished them in the 2024 post-season.

Wellington was down 3-0 after the opening 20 minutes. They bravely fought back but the horrors of the playoff past came back to haunt them again.

If the Junior Canadiens’ bus driver lost his directions to Lehigh Arena on the next trip to Prince Edward County, it’s safe to assume neither the Dukes nor their faithful would mind too much.

Battle Royale

Sunday saw Wellington and their net minder Jack Lisson bounce back against the Royals. The left handed goaler surrounded just one goal on 35 volleys sent his way and by that point in the game – 10:45 of the second period – Wellington had already built a 3-0 lead thanks to goals by Colin Smith, Ben Vreugdenhil and Zander Latreille.

In the back half of the contest, Captain Cory Jewitt scored both a power play goal and a short handed marker while Riley Noble, Zach Carrier and Sacha Trudel all potted singles. Mr. Carrier, a Kingston native and one of few Dukes who grew up in the 613 area code, has three tallies thus far in the season to tie Mr. Jewitt for top goal getter.

Second verse, same as the first

The Dukes were flat to start their home opener and the Toronto Jr. Canadiens, who look far too comfortable in the Dukedome these days, took advantage.

An announced crowd of 587 fans looked on in dismay as Chris Soares, Lucas Teixeira and Cayden Smith all scored in the first 15 minutes to take a 3-0 lead into the first intermission.

In the second, Wellington was able to press its advantage a few times and rang the bar behind Toronto starter Daniel Dirracolo. When they didn’t tickle the iron, Wellington was robbed on a couple of point blank opportunities by the Jr. Canadien goalie.

In the third, Wellington started to hum and Mr. Carrier solved Mr. Dirracolo at the 2:12 mark to give the fans something to cheer about. Just 29 seconds later, Mr Jewitt went post and in to give the Dukes a dose of life and get within a goal.

But Toronto moved ahead to stay when Jared Harding’s shot played Mr. Lisson instead of the other way around. A juicy rebound came to the stick of Jalen Lobo at 5:59 and he made no mistake, firing the puck past Mr. Lisson’s blocker.

Sacha Trudel would set up Mr. Carrier at 13:10 of the third to get Wellington back to within a shot but Mr. Dirracolo shut the door, making several big saves down the stretch.

Panthers Tamed

In Pickering, Wellington got goals from Mr. Vreugdenhil and Ryan Schapp in the first and that’s all the offence the visitors needed.

In the third, Zach Mascard, Logan Kaliber, Ben Pouliot and Cole Ellis all scored to skate away from the Cats 6-1.

On The Road Again

After a taste of home cooking, Wellington is on the road for the foreseeable future. This weekend, they skate into Burlington for a rare Friday night home game and then play the Oakville Blades the following evening at Sixteen Mile Arena.

Next week the Dukes take on Leamington and Caledon at the 2024 OJHL Governors Showcase in Niagara Falls. On Saturday, Sept. 28, Wellington is in Toronto to play the Patriots. Their next home game is Oct. 6 against Collingwood.