For the second year in a row the Dukes wear the crown in the East, sweeping the Kingston Voyageurs. Congrats to the Dukes who will go on to face either St.Mikes (again) or the Markham Waxers (as they did a few years back). GO DUKES GO!
It wasn’t supposed to end this way, but in the end it just wasn’t meant to be, as the Kingston KIMCO Voyageurs bowed out in the Eastern Conference Final for the second year in a row to the Wellington Dukes. The Vees never held a lead once in the entire series and the all important tying goal was always just out of reach for the Vees in this series. Even when they thought they finally scored the tying goal in Game Three, it was called back too. Game Four was exactly what the series was all about, the Vees fighting and clawing for anything they could get, but still unable to pull even due to the Dukes strong defensive play and the stellar goaltending of Paul Karpowich.
The Dukes opened the scoring again when Chris Brown’s shot through traffic beat Vees goaltender Matt Hache late in the first period to give the Dukes a 1-0 lead after 20 minutes. The Vees came out strong and killed off an early 5 on 3 power plays situation and felt good in trying to find a way to win the game. The Dukes the put a dagger in the Vees early in the second period, when Marty O’Grady jammed in a loose puck scramble to give the Dukes a 2-0 lead and make the Vees uphill climb, even steeper. The Vees got some life a few minutes later, when Phil McIlhone fed a pass to the slot where James Cameron was there to tap in between the legs of Karpowich to cut the lead in half. Midway through the period the Dukes restored the two goal lead when Tony Rizzi made a beautiful move and swung a cross crease pass to Jeremy Franklin to give the Dukes a big 3-1 lead heading to the third period.
O’Grady then scored four minutes into the third period and appeared to put the final nail in the Vees coffin, but rather than wave a white flag, the Vees kept swinging and created one of the most exciting three minute stretches you’ll ever see. Andrew Marcoux scored a power play marker with 6:07 remaining in the game which kept the Vees faint chances alive, but Chris Smith stabbed the Vees comeback attempt in the heart 53 seconds later scoring on a breakaway, but again the Vees wouldn’t go away and 24 seconds later Mitch Latchford drove the net and put home a rebound to get the Vees within two again. The Vees fans and even their own bench still weren’t convinced a comeback was possible after either of Marcoux or Latchford’s goals, but when Tyler Hill one timed a laser to the top most corner, right under the cross bar, knocking the water bottle in the air just 32 seconds after Latchford’s goal and the Vees bench and their fans erupted with the thought pulling off the impossible. The Vees had four and a half minutes to try and score the tying goal but 57 seconds after Hill’s goal Jeremy Franklin broke down the wing and unloaded a canon to the top corner that literally broke the water bottle on the top of the Vees net and that would prove to much for the Vees to overcome and they would bow out in the Eastern Conference Final for the second straight season.
“We could have easily quit in the third period, but we didn’t and I can’t say anything other than I’m super proud of the effort,” said Vees Head Coach Evan Robinson.
Tyler Hill was the Vees first star, scoring the huge goal late to give the Vees a fighting chance late in the game, while Vick Schlueter was the second star picking up an assist and battling hard in his final junior hockey game and James Cameron was the third star with a strong two point performance.
Tonight’s game was the end of the line for overage players Vick Schlueter, Phil McIlhone, Brett Jendra, Sean McAllister and Ben Munroe. Schlueter appears set to attend Plattsburg of the NCAA in the fall, where last year’s Vees Captain Dylan Clarke is currently playing. The work horse Jendra has a couple different NCAA Division III offers on the table and will decide in the next few weeks where he will suit up next season. McAllister has an offer on the table with NCAA Ivy League Division III program in Connecticut and will decide in the next few weeks to go there, or look to play for the Queens’ Golden Gaels. Ben Munroe battled flu like symptoms all game long tonight, throwing up several times between each period and literally played his guts out. He had an offer to go to the same Connecticut school last year, but chose to attend Queens’ instead and will play for the Gaels next fall.
As for the rest of the Vees, the main core of the team are all eligible to return, but like any off season some things will change, some players will move on to higher levels, some will move away for school and some will just feel the need to move on to something new and many will be back, set to open a new rink and hopeful that next year, will finally be the year the Vees take the next step and become champions.
The Kingston KIMCO Voyageurs organization, management, coaching staff, trainers and players would like to thank all their fans for a terrific season and hope they will all join them next season as they embark on a new journey in a brand new rink. The Vees would also like to wish the Wellington Dukes the best of luck as the represent the Eastern Conference in the OPJHL Semi-Finals.
Finally to all the players, thank you so much for everything throughout the season. You guys have fought, battled, bled and worked your tails off this season and it has not gone unnoticed. Every single one of you improved over the course of the season and helped shape this particular version of the Vees. Hope to see you guys back next year, for another kick at the can…….
Thanks for easng up the pain on me, Tyler . It is truly appreciated.
And thanks, DJ , for reminding me of how wrong I was.
And to the Wellington Dukes, I really believe you have the makings of a league champion this year. Last year you did not with just one line.This year is a much more solid team top to bottom.
The goaltending is exceptional, the back 4 D are terrific and you have at least two excellent productive lines and a great checking line.
This team is damned good and I really think they have a legitimate shot at the league title with Huntsville out of the way.
Dukes sweep Vees; Wellington wins conference final with 6-4 victory
Despite a furious late thirdperiod charge and a 21-shot third period barrage at the Wellington Dukes net, the Kingston Voyageurs' season came to an end last night with a 6-4 loss.
Swept from the Ontario Provincial Junior A Hockey League playoffs, the Voyageurs did not hold a lead at any point during their four-game series with the Dukes. The Kingston power play, which had been deadly during the regular season, went south, scoring just twice on 22 opportunities. Andrew Marcoux, after leading the Vees in scoring in the regular season with 58 points in 49 games, had just two in the series.
The Dukes' stifling penalty kill was on full display last night in front of a Cataraqui Community Centre crowd composed mainly of Wellington fans, killing off two five-on-three man advantages for Kingston, including a lengthy one in the third that could have turned the tide with the score 3-1 Wellington.
Dukes coach Marty Abrams says his seven penalty-kill specialists - Jeremy Franklin, Justin Johnson, Zach Morbeck, Marc Senecal, Jon Bockmann, Brandon Bureau and Jared Anderson - were a huge reason why the Dukes were able to do away with the Vees in four straight.
"They were unbelievable all series," he said. "And of course, Karp [goaltender Paul Karpowich] was hot at the right time."
If not for some spectacular play by Karpowich early in the game, the Vees might have walked away with this one. Kingston scored three times in the last seven minutes of the game, causing some anxious moments for the Dukes bench, but Karpowich refused to let the tying goal sneak past him, making a handful of stunning saves when the score was 5-4 for the Dukes. His saves allowed Bath's Jeremy Franklin to ice the series with a howitzer over Kingston goaltender Matt Hache's shoulder.
"I thought Karpowich was definitely the MVP of the series," said Kingston coach Evan Robinson after the game. "He played absolutely outstanding for them since Game 1."
Robinson harkened back to the first game of the series, a tight 1-0 loss, and said Wellington was able to grab the momentum and draw on a domination performance from Karpowich.
"That was a super tight game and it was actually pretty demoralizing for our guys," he said. "We played very well and we just game up short."
He also said the loss of star forward Jordan Mayer, who left the Vees to join the Ontario Hockey League's Mississauga St. Michael's Majors halfway through the season, was a major loss.
"Regardless, I'm very proud of my guys. And that's all," he said. "I don't think we have anything to hold our heads down about. We battled hard, but Wellington was just a little bit better than us.
"Yeah, it was four games. But we were right there."
#1 PAUL KARPOWICH G 6'3" 180 lbs 1988 THUNDER BAY
#2 TONY RIZZI C 6'4" 205 lbs 1987 KINGSTON
#3 CHAD BEAL LW 6' 200 lbs 1989 PICKERING, ON
#3 IAN WALLWORK D 6'6" 205 lbs 1990 PICTON
#4 DAVID PRATT D 6' 180 lbs 1991 NAPANEE
#5 KYLE CRAWFORD D 6'1" 185 lbs 1988 GLENCOE
#6 JON BOCKMANN D 6'3" 185 lbs 1988 WIND LAKE WISC.
#7 CHRIS BROWN C 5'9" 175 lbs 1988 CENTREVILLE
#8 MATT STOVER C 6'3" 180 lbs 1990 KINGSTON
#9 MARTY OGRADY RW 6' 180 lbs 1989 LONDON
#10 CHRIS SMITH Fwd 6'1" 200 lbs 1987 BRIGHTON, MI.
#11 BRENDAN BUREAU D 5'11" 185 lbs 1989 AMHERSTVIEW
#12 JARED ANDERSON D 6' 180 lbs 1988 CAMPBELLFORD
#15 MAX BOBROW LW 6' 180 lbs 1989 CLIFTON PARK NEW YORK
#16 JEREMY FRANKLIN RW 6' 160 lbs 1989 BATH
#17 MARC SENECAL LW 6' 180 lbs 1988 NORTH BAY
#18 JAKE MAHONEY D 6'4" 200 lbs 1990 BELLEVILLE
#19 KYLE HAWKINS-SCHULZ C 5'9" 175 lbs 1989 WEST LAKE
#20 JUSTIN JOHNSON LW 5'11" 180 lbs 1988 EAU CLAIRE WISC
#21 ZACH MORBECK RW 6'1" 190 lbs 1988 JACKSON WISC
#22 COREY BUREAU C 6' 170 lbs 1991 AMHERSTVIEW
#23 SAM HALL D 5'11" 175 lbs 1990 BELLEVILLE
#24 MATT PEREIRA D 6'4" 200 lbs 1987 SARNIA, ON
#30 JAKE FISCHER G 6'3" 185 lbs 1989 BELLE RIVER
#46 CHRIS AYOTTE C 5'10" 180 lbs 1988 CORNWALL
#77 ZACHARY BLAKE RW 6' 170 lbs 1990 CAMPBELLF
