The Wellington Dukes snapped a four-game losing skid Monday afternoon at the Ontario Junior Hockey League’s Governors’ Showcase in Cobourg with a 2-0 win over the Toronto Patriots.
Wellington’s line of Barret Joynt, Harrison Ballard and Jaxen Boyer factored into both goals with each player registering two points in the contest as the club improved to 4-5-0-1.
“We just kept it simple all night pushing pucks forward, moving north and trying to play as simple as we could to get shots on net,” said Joynt, who’s second-period goal put the Dukes up 2-0 after Ballard opened the scoring with the lone goal of the first.
“Getting guys healthy helps a lot, but I think our attention to detail and moving pucks in straight lines rather than trying to go west and just moving it north helped a lot.”
Boyer, who was recently acquired in a trade from the Trenton Golden Hawks, assisted on both goals in his second game with the Dukes. Ballard’s goal came at the 11:27 mark of the first period while Joynt netted his 4:40 into the second as both players earned assists as well.
“The last couple games since they’ve been together, they create a lot of energy because they play the game the right way,” said Dukes head coach Derek Smith on the Joynt-Ballard-Boyer line. “They’re honest and they work hard and they don’t quit on any play. They’re a big part of our team and they are being rewarded on the scoresheet right now.”
It was the first win in regulation time for the Dukes since Oct. 8. The club had five losses, including the recent four straight, since that time and one win in double-overtime.
“We’ve been talking about battling for 60 minutes and having a good team effort and I think tonight from start to finish we were better,” Smith said. “We skated, we played physical and I’m happy with our performance for sure.”
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