When the Kingston Voyageurs and Wellington Dukes started out this year, there was the feeling these two teams might just end up playing for a divisional playoff championship.
Heading in to the best of seven final, the Dukes are the defending champion of both this season's regular season and last year's playoff divisional champs.
Their team recipe for success has always been good goaltending, sound team defence, a productive powerplay and balanced scoring.
They crushed the Voyageurs in last year's finale 4 games to 1 outscoring the Vees 29-15 in the 5 game final.But it was the first two games of that final the dukes actually broke the Vees' spirit winning 8-0 and 10-5.
And the Vees' big offensive weapons in Revell and Clarke simply could not match the output of the Dukes Chamberlain,Fleming and Hall.
The Vees were dealt a severe blow in game one of last year's final. One of their chief offensive weapons (Revell) was suspended for a deliberate attempt to injure the Wellington goalie. Add to that, the fine goaltending of Mike Studlii in the Bowmanville series cooled off succumbing to the Wellington pressure. But part was due to Studlii's injury. He simply wasn't both healthy and confident of his game going in.
The Vees never recovered and the Dukes had a relatively easy time with them. The Vees were emotionally ill-equipped to handle the Dukes in the final. After their dramatic dispatch of the powerhouse Bowmanville Eagles in a 5 game semi-final, there was a sense they were just happy to be in the East final, much less win it.
But that was all last year.
There has been a much different climate this year in the Vees' dressing room. There was not the jubilation of a 5 game semi-final win over Port Hope this year. It was a quiet celebration. There was a purveying feeling that there was much work to be done. They expected, confidently, to be in the final again this year.In fact, the players and coaches all expected it.
Their fans were not as convinced. The Vees held, resolutely, to their plan of not only meeting the Wellington Dukes, but beating them,in the final this year.
Their fans just hoped that they would give a better account of themselves than they did last year against the Dukes.
The two teams met 7 times this season. It is said that the regular season head to head doesn't mean much. The Dukes won the season series 4 games to 3 outscoring the Vees 23-18. It is interesting to look at and break down the numbers.
Wellington won 4-3,5-2,6-2, and 4-0. Kingston won 4-1,3-0 and 4-3.
The Dukes scored 9 powerplay goals and the Vees scored six. The Dukes had the only short-handed goal in the 7 games head to head.
The Dukes amassed 56 scoring points in total over those games. Here's their breakdown;
Anderson and Brown - 6 points each
Crawford,Bockmann and Morbeck - 5 points each
Senecel,Corey Bureau and Rizzi - 4 points each
O'Grady,Johnson,Smith and Franklin - 3 points each
Pratt,Brandon Bureau and Ayotte - 2 points each
The Vees tallied 43 scoring points total. The breakdown;
Mayer,Marcoux and Latchford - 5 points each
Dadic - 4 points
Wright and Moreau - 3 points each
Devine,Hill,Joel McAllister,Geldart, McIlhone and Munroe - 2 points each
Kavanagh,Patterson,Perry,Stone,Jendra and Schlueter - 1 point each
Coach Abrams of the Dukes is a stickler for line matching so we will see a lot of that in this series.
It's likely that Schlueter, Marcoux and Latchford will see a lot of Dukes' shutdown pair of Crawford and Bockmann.
Precisely why it isn't likely all three Vees will be out on the same line unless it is the powerplay.
The Dukes backend all can hammer the puck well from the blueline. Vees' PK and even strength will have to take diligence in getting into the shooting lanes to block those point shots.
A big part of the Duke offence is their D being involved.It's a hallmark of Dukes' teams over the years. This one is no different.
D's Crawford, Anderson and Bockmann have a combined 16 ponts between in the 7 games this year.
Conversely, Vees' backend have only 5 points suggesting they had better focus on playing defence rather than trying to contribute offensively. Leaving the offence to the Vees' most gifted forwards.
This is really one of the major differences between the two teams. The Dukes depend on their D to contribute offensively. That means their forwards are always diligent on the back check which is why this team is so good defensively.That and their puck pursuit is so good.
Watch for when the Dukes do not have the puck. They often will put a lot of 2 man pressure to get it back. It can result in the other team turning it over.
For the Vees puck carriers Perry,Wright, Marcoux, Schlueter and Latchford, it will mean moving the puck more quickly and getting into the hole to get it back.
The Dukes home ice advantage is always a big factor for them at any time and the playoffs even more so.
They have the deciding game there. It is a difficult place to play but the Vees beat them twice there this year 4-1 and 4-3. They know all too well what it takes to win over there.
They also beat the Dukes there last year in the final 3-0 in their only win of that series.
Vees will not have the diminutive Jordan Mayer who has moved on to the O, but they have an adequate replacement in Vick Schlueter to make up for the offensive shortfall. Schuleter played only 3 of the 7 games due to being acquired later in the season. They'll also look to last year junior Phil McIlhone also to help out.
Most pundits still pick the Dukes as heavy favourites. The Vees don't much care what the pundits might think.
This team has but one thought in mind. An East playoff championship ring for each and every player. If not this year, then certainly next.
As the final approaches, look for a closer and intense series that will see the Dukes pushed to the limits of their excellence.
Dukes fans have all hoped for this match up. They believe in the excellence of past Dukes' teams successes. A rich tradition of winning championships is the stuff of few teams. The Aurora Tigers and St.Michael's Buzzers share that winning formula with them.
One other thing. Any championship team at any level has to have all the right moving parts.
Two good lines, a top notch checking line, 4 solid D,excellent goaltending and some luck.
Both are pretty well equipped with these parts. It should be a good series.
Too much time on my hands? It's the least I can do for the young men who have provided me with great entertainment for my money this year....the Kingston Voyageurs.
In the 7 games between the 2 teams this year, the Dukes' big period has been the 1st. They outscored the Vees 8-3 in that period.
The teams were virtually even the rest of the way.
In the 2nd period, each team scored 6 times.
In the 3rd, each had 8 goals apiece.
And overtime? Each team scored one apiece.
And the all important 1st goal of the game? The Vees scored 1st in 5 of the games.
So it would seem, based on the head to head meetings this year, that scoring 1st isn't that important in the eventual outcomes of the games.
And, the 1st period has been the Vees' worst of the 3 periods against the Dukes. It suggests the Dukes, if they jump on you in the 1st period, make it very tough to come back and win. This is largely due to their disciplined play and their strong team defence.
Thanks for the incredibly thorough preview Wayjoy. Unfortunately, Kingston and Wellington are a big of a hike, especially during the week, so I doubt I'll see any of the East Final, but I look forward to your recaps after every game.
I do wish your Vees all the best and look forward to seeing them face off against the Markham Waxers, who in my humble opinion will come out on top in their series with the Buzzers. Let's call it my 2 cent prediction for the South-East Final.
RBCORBUSTN08 (Login RBCORBUSTN08) Registered Members
Re: An in depth look, at the East final
March 4 2008, 8:18 AM
Kingston in 6 or 7. If Kingston comes out and plays with the edge they played with against Port Hope. They will beat Wellington. At the end of the day this series regardless on the numbers and who has done what will come down to the two goalies.
DJ ;
Nothing wrong with your prediction unless.........you are a Vees' fan. This one will take more than 5 games to decide.
CSTR ;
Aww! I thought you and Nutmeg might make it down this way. Sure was looking forward to seeing you again.Guess we will have to await the South-East Conference finale now to meet. Markham and Kingston sounds good to me.
RBC ;
Often, when 2 teams are evenly matched, it can come down to desire. As you call it, an edge suggesting you want it more than the other guy. That fire in the belly has determined many an outcome in a playoff series. But that, in itself, is not enough.
Cash ;
You know who I will be cheering for! You are in my corner. And in a good fight, it's always good to have a good cornerman.
Thi much is true. If that series were to come about, I can tell you it would be one of the best covered on this forum.Forum readers would get so sick of the Waxer/Voyageur verbage wouldn't they?
You doing the Waxer perspective and yours truly, the Voyageurs'.
Not to mention the Buzzer and Duke fans. They have a decided advantage over us. They have been there many times before. They don't get too excited when their team loses a game or two. They just expect their team will prevail in the end. That kind of attitude is foreign to us. It comes from so much previous success. I would not call it complacency, though. I will leave it there.
But that is getting way ahead of ourselves. I have tried very hard, throughout this year's season, not to look any further ahead than the team right in front of you right now. That is the Wellington Dukes.
It's probably fair to say that the Waxers have a lot more people believing they can win the South than do the Vees the East.
"In the 7 games between the 2 teams this year, the Dukes' big period has been the 1st. They outscored the Vees 8-3 in that period."
It was really only that one Oct. game when the Vees fell behind 5-0. Three of those goals were on powerplays and apparently the goalie was quite "under the weather". They were still fighting and never gave up netting a couple to make the game closer.
Oct. was a long time ago now and with a healthy line-up that stay out of the penalty box the Vees should have the edge.
Take all the stats, and match ups and throw them out the window. Mac touched on what is probably the key to this series. The only way Kingston has a chance to beat Wellington is to stay out of the penalty box. In the 7 games they played this year Kingston had more penalty minutes in all but 1 game. In recent history this has been the Dukes motto, strong goaltending and don't take stupid penalties. But if you think it will help Wayne maybe have the boys listen to " I of the tiger" too.
If you watched the Ottawa/Anaheim game last night at the Honda Centre in Anaheim(Ducks won 3-1), there seemed an underlying theme.
The pro-Ottawa broadcasters Gary Galley and Dean Brown were moaning about the fact the Ducks get away with more than anybody else does in the league.
They called them the dirtiest team in the league but penalized nowhere near as much as they should be.
There were a couple of clear hits from behind on Redden and Mezaros and neither drew a penalty.I had to agree with the case they made on that point.
They said that it was clear that the word was out in the west conference that the Ducks get away with more than anybody else. Even Detroit was moaning about it and they play them all the time.
But it is my thought that the Ducks, being Stanley Cup champions, have earned the right to be cut a little extra slack.
Same is true of the Dukes, the Tigers and the Buzzers.
So how's this? We haven't even played a single game of the playoffs and already I am complaining about the officiating!
If you read SMC 's rant about the net being constantly knocked off its' moorings by the Newmarket Hurricanes in the 1st game of the Aurora/Newmarket series, that rant may have paid off. It was a non issue the rest of the series and Aurora went on to win.
Think maybe if I complain about the officiating now, they will even it up?
If only For the Fans By the Fans had that kind of influence.
Instead, I think I'll have them listen to "eye of the tiger" as you so thoughtfully suggested.
Here's some more stats for you. The Vees had a total of 162 PIMS in the seven games this season against the Dukes. The Dukes had 111.
game one
4-3 Wellington
24 PIMS for the Vees and 12 for the Dukes
game two
4-1 Kingston
18 for the Vees and 12 for the Dukes
game three
5-2 Wellington
22 for the Vees and 20 for the Dukes
game four
3-0 Kingston
14 for the Vees and 14 for the Dukes
game five
6-2 Wellington
44 for the Vees and 35 for the Dukes
game six
4-3 Kingston
20 for the Vees and 4 for the Dukes
game seven
4-0 Wellington
20 for the Vees and 14 for the Dukes.
Wayjoy
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