Time for the Dudley

Fresh off their Buckland Cup victory last Tuesday, the Wellington Dukes are back in competition mode as they prepare for their first game in the Dudley Hewitt Cup.
The Dukes are facing off against the Wisconsin Wilderness, who in their first year in the Superior International Junior A Hockey league, finished the season with 32 straight regular season games without a regulation loss.
The goalies for both teams won Most Valuable Player honours in their playoff runs to get to the provincial championships.
John McLean, a six-foot-eight goalie, recorded a 1.90 GAA for the Wilderness during their playoff runs. McLean posted a 9-1 record in 10 playoff appearances.
Dukes' Jordan Ruby, bound for RIT in Rochester, N.Y., next season on an NCAA hockey scholarship, registered a sparkling 1.71 GAA in 20 Ontario Jr. A Hockey League playoff games along with a .946 save percentage and 16 wins as he backstopped Wellington to the Buckland Cup.

The Dukes and Wilderness kick off the five-day tournament with their first game at 2 p.m. on Tuesday.

 

The Dukes Tackle the Wilderness.

The Canada Summit Centres Olympic-sized rink worked to the Wellington Dukes
advantage in their first game at the Dudley Hewitt Cup.
The Dukes cruised to a 7-2 win over the Wisconsin Wilderness Tuesday afternoon in the four-team, round robin tournament.
The Dukes didn't need to adjust their style of play for a larger sized rink. In fact, Dukes' Marty Abrams considers it to be good luck.
"When we found out this rink was an Olympic size we thought hey this must be some sort of omen and good luck for us. We haven't lost yet on the big ice," he said.
The Dukes probably didn't need an omen in this one. They led 4-0 and 6-0 after two periods.
Heading into the game, the Dukes wanted to find out what the Wilderness were all about and what to expect from a team playing its first year in the Superior International Junior A Hockey league.
Midway through the first period Steve Evans opened up the scoring for the Dukes on the power play and three minutes later Rusty Hafner gave the Dukes a 2-0 lead. Evans notched his second of the game moments later.
The second period was no different with three quick goals by Darcy Greenaway, Sean Rudy and Joe Zarbo of the Dukes. With a 6-0 lead heading into the third period, the Dukes had to make sure the extended lead didn't affect their play.
Abrams said his team has to keep in mind this tournament often comes down to tie-breaking scenarios, sometimes goals for and goals against.
"So you have to be very leery and aware of your goals for and goals against so that's a motivating factor not only to win the game but to keep the goals against down and score as many goals as you can," he said.
Dukes goalie Jordan Ruby had his shutout snatched away from him midway through the third when Wisconsin forward Tom Paine tallied the team's first goal.
"Our boys were playing an amazing game," said Ruby. "Defense was keeping shots at the outside and forwards were coming back and helping me out a lot. For a goalie a lot of shots keep you in the game but if they keep it down to 20 shots a game we should be fine this tournament."
If the Dukes continue to win they have will have the opportunity to have Friday off. Dukes forward Steve Evans that's what the team is looking at right now.
"Hopefully we are only going to have to play 3 in a row, we are working for that day off," said Evans. "That's our goal right now. We're not even looking at the finals. We are just concentrating getting by these few games and then hopefully we don't have to play Friday and come out full strength Saturday.".
The Dukes next game is Wednesday against the Soo Eagles of Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan at 2 p.m.

 

Dukes look SOO-PER

Jordan Ruby and Steve Evans shone for the Wellington Dukes in their second straight win at the Dudley Hewitt Cup.

Evans, the current points leader at the tournament, picked up four points — including a hat trick — in Wednesday afternoon's 7-1 rout of the Soo Eagles, champions of the Northern Ontario Jr. A Hockey League.

The solid performance of netminder Ruby also helped keep Wellington in the game. Unlike Game 1 — a 7-2 Dukes victory against the Wisconsin Wilderness — Ruby was kept busy against the Soo, facing nearly double the shots he got the previous day.

Dukes forward Zach Blake credits Ruby for the team's performance so far at the tournament.

"He's been solid every game for us and we don't expect anything less from him so that's just game in and game out for him," said Blake.

Dukes GM-coach Marty Abrams also had nothing but great things to say about his goaltender.

"We just expect it from him, anytime you give up one goal a game, you're doing something right," said Abrams. "Hats off to the defense and goaltender."

Early in the game the Eagles put pressure on the Dukes who weren't under-estimating the physical team from Michigan. Going from a relatively tame game against the Wilderness, Abrams said his team needed to match their style of play.

"It was just the way they play — they're a scrappy team and we had to make sure we hit back," he said.

Dukes captain Sean Rudy said the Soo's physical play wasn't surprising.

"We expected them to come out hard, we didn't underestimate them," he said. "They're a good team so I think we did a good job." The Dukes were once again the first team to open up the scoring with a power play goal by Brian Bunnett to give Wellington a 1-0 lead early in the first period. Evans then closed out the period with his first of the night.

The Eagles managed only six shots on net in the second period but got lucky as the puck bounced passed Ruby as they closed in on the Dukes' 3-1 lead. Evans kept the Dukes' lead at a comfortable position, scoring his second of the night on the power play midway through the period.

Despite the Eagles attempt at a comeback, the Dukes quick offense in the third period was no match for Eagles goalie Jake Patterson — an OHL draft pick of the Saginaw Spirit. Dukes added two quick goals in the third by Blake and Evans, completing his hat trick. Darcy Greenaway then notched his first of the night with two seconds to go in the game.

Abrams knew what to expect from the Eagles after watching them play the host Huntsville Otters Tuesday night. (A 6-4 Soo loss.)

"They were a no-quit team, and we knew that and they showed it today that despite the score and the circumstances they work hard and we saw that when they played against Huntsville — they don't quit," said Abrams.

Looking ahead to Wellington's final round robin game against the Otters Thursday (7:30 p.m. on CJBQ 800 AM radio), Abrams sees a few similarities between the host team and the Dukes' OJHL Buckland Cup opponents — the Oakville Blades.

"They're big and strong and powerful," said Abrams. "They like to hit and they've got a couple of real good offensive lines so this will be a typical OHJL playoff game with two teams from the league going head-to-head."

Winner of Thursday's game between Wellington and Huntsville will gain a bye into the Saturday final. Otters joined Dukes at 2-and-0 after defeating Wisconsin 4-3 Wednesday night.