The Wellington Dukes came home to a Sunday contest against the Milton Menace on a down note.

In the first game of their trek, which coincided with the 2023 Ontario Junior Hockey League’s Governor’s Showcase event, the Dukes were able to upend the Toronto Jr. Canadiens 5-3.

But the next evening in Buffalo, in a game every hockey fan in the Quinte region would have loved to watch in person had the OJHL not suffered a severe brain cramp while scheduling, the Dukes were unable to get on track. They lost to former Dukes bench boss Derek Smith and the Golden Hawks 6-2.

On Friday, Wellington was left less than regal in a 6-3 setback to the Markham Royals.

The Dukes went looking to snap a three-game skid Sunday against Milton after press time.

In front of 125 souls in Markham Friday, the Dukes had a poor start. A poor finish in the second period was their undoing. Tied at 1-1 to start the frame, Ben-Chiam Lalkin would surprise Dukes starter Jack Lisson five seconds into the period with a shot that put the hosts ahead for good.

Joe Colangelo would add a goal for Markham at the 2:52 mark to make it 3-1 for the Royals.

Newcomer Panayioti Efraimidis would pot his second of the game on the power play for Wellington to get the locals back into the contest, but a main-advantage maker with 20 seconds left by Royal Shane Bondy was a dagger in the heart of the Dukes.

With Wellington down 5-2, Ethan Quick redirected a feed from Mr. Efraimidis with just over three minutes left but Mr. Bondy would salt the game away with an empty netter.

On Wednesday, would-have-been (or would-still-be) Dukes Lucas Lapalm (2) and Corbin Roach had goals for Trenton in a 6-3 loss.

Down 5-0 after 40 minutes, Connor Hunt and Cory Jewitt had third period goals to make the score a little more respectable.

In Wellington’s lone win of the week on Tuesday in Buffalo against the Junior Canadiens, Mr. Hunt (2) and Zander Latreille had second period tallies against the Baby Habs to break a 1-1 deadlock and propel the Dukes to a win.

Mr. Quick added a third period tally while Logan Goodwin banged home his first OJHL goal at 12:20 of the final frame.

The Dukes have a busy weekend ahead of them, hosting Markham Friday, travelling to Haliburton on Saturday and then welcoming Burlington on Sunday afternoon.