JASON PARKS
STAFF WRITER
That the Wellington Dukes would be pushed in one of their two Ontario Junior Hockey League games this weekend isn’t beyond belief, especially this time of year when points are at a premium.
But that it was the Caledon Admirals who waved goodbye to the 2023 OJHL post season some time ago and not the Cobourg Cougars who are still in the thick of the jockeying going on in the Southeastern Conference is a little surprising.
At home on Friday, Wellington would pull away from the Cats 4-2 thanks to a pair of goals from Corbin Roach in the third period.
(Right) Julien Jacob had two assists including setting up the OT winner on Sunday. (Jason Parks/Gazette Staff)
On Sunday in their inaugural Every Child Matters game that featured Wellington adorned in orange jerseys and a special pre game and intermission ceremonies involving the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte and the Tsi Tyónnheht Onkwawén:na Language and Cultural Centre, the Dukes wound up needing double overtime to deny the Admirals their ninth win of the season.
With three skaters a side early in the second OT period, Julien Jacob played give and go with captain Jacob Vreugdenhil at the Caledon blue line before the Belleville native capped off a hat trick effort with a slick move in tight to the goal mouth, tucking the puck past Ads starter Antonino Rizzo at the 1:37 mark.
While it was an emotional lift for the Dukes to win in such dramatic fashion, the Wellington coaching staff will have to ask some serious questions at practice this week as to how they club allowed five third period goals to Caledon who made a game of it in the late going, especially when they pasted the Admirals on the road last week 10-1.
Nevertheless, Wellington moved their record to 34-11-5 and temporarily moved a point ahead of the Halliburton Huskies and into second place alone at 73. The Huskies were in action Monday afternoon against Lindsay and beat the Fish to leapfrog back in front of Wellington who have a game in hand on the Dogs.
The Dukes have a home and home with Lindsay and road games against Trenton and Oakville while the Huskies face the Toronto Junior Canadiens, Milton and North York to finish the season.
The Dukes might have had an inkling Caledon came to play when Evin Kojokaro tucked home his own rebound at 3:57 to open the scoring.
Wellington tied the game at 10:49 when Vreugdenhil potted his first of the game off the pipe and past Rizzo for a 1-1 tie.
In the second, Wellington started to flex its offensive muscle.
Matheson Mason’s seeing eye pass found the stick of Barrett Joynt in the slot at 4:15.
Exactly three minutes later and just after a power play opportunity came up empty, Vreugdenhil doubled down with a toe drag and fire off the half wall that made it 3-1 in favour of the hosts.
Caldeon would get back to within a goal with Owen Norman’s effort at 8:44 but the Dukes continued to roll.
Edward Moskowitz would find Cutler lurking at the far dot and a one timer at 14:34 would push the Dukes head by two.
Wellington would open up a three goal cushion just under two minutes later when the OJHL’s top power play unit finally hit pay dirt at 16:14.
Vreugdenhil would feed David Campbell and the Sault Ste. Marie native fired his 17th of the campaign to make it 5-2 Wellington, a seemingly manageable margin for one of the league’s best teams.
Matheson Mason tucked home his 22nd of the year just under three minutes into the third off a Luke Lapalm rebound to make it 6-2 Wellington and a Admirals comeback had to seem one of the most unlikely events of the OJHL season at that point.
But the visitors would carve into the Wellington lead with an Andrew Tsotsos goal just under a minute later and Dawson Hettiarachchi’s power play goal at 6:58 of the third got the Ads to within a pair.
But Wellington stemmed the tide when Joynt fired his second of the contest and 23rd in 36 games to push the Dukes ahead by a field goal with less than 10 minutes to play.
Wellington’s Nolan Mozer blocks Caledon’s Dan Nau. (Jason Parks/Gazette Staff)
But the Admirals weren’t going down with the ship that easily on Sunday.
Kojokaro would score his second of the game at 12:29 and then Dawson Doner would light the lamp with 5:33 left to get Caledon to within a goal.
Then, with just over three minutes left in the game, Spencer Borg dashed into the Wellington zone and used a defender as a screen and beat Ethan Morrow to the short side to tie the game at 7-7. Despite a couple of washouts on potential Wellington tallies, the game needed extra time to be settled.
In a thrilling overtime where the officiating crew chose to put the whistles away it was a Wellington rush up the ice where the captain used a give and go and possible pick in the high slot to break loose and fire the game winner with 97 seconds left.
On Friday, Wellington didn’t need dramatics and rough play, just a nose to the grindstone and a full 60 minute effort.
Adam Barone would break the ice in favour of the visitors with less than five minutes to go in the first frame and then a Jakob Morier tally at 1:39 made it a 2-0 Cougar lead.
But the power play got the Dukes back into the game in the back half of the second.
Campbell set up Moskowitz to beat Ryan Piros at the 6:30 mark of the second.
The Dukes got back to even with 2:30 left in the second when Campbell set up his second of the frame, this time feeding Joynt who made it 2-2 with a shot that Piros waved at.
In third, Jared Langdon would set up Roach who put Wellington ahead to stay at 5:55. A bit of fortune and hard work was on display for Roach’s second of the period, an unassisted effort with 4:31 left in the game.
Jacob Osborne made 36 saves in the win.
Wellington is in Lindsay Friday and makes their final appearance in Trenton on Sunday.
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