By Tyler Brown
Director of Social Media/ Wellington Dukes
Dukes Announce Exhibition Schedule
With the calendar rolling into August and Main Camp just around the corner, the Wellington Dukes and their fans have a lot to look forward to in the coming weeks. The Dukes Main Camp will be held on the weekend of August 23rd to 25th at Lehigh Arena in Wellington before the Dukes play 4 exhibition games before the start of the season.
The Dukes will kick-off their exhibition play on Tuesday, August 27th at 1:00PM at the Duke Dome when they take on the CCHL’s Brockville Braves. Duke’s Head Coach and Director of Hockey Operations Kent Lewis is excited about hosting Brockville when reached for comment. “We are excited to host Brockville on the 27th. We felt the early game time would give fans in the community time to come watch the game and then meet with our players and staff after the game.”
Following their home game against Brockville, the Dukes will head to Niagara Falls and take part in the Canucks Junior Classic where they will play 3 games in front of many NCAA and U Sport scouts at the Gale Centre. The Dukes will play the Niagara Falls Canucks on August 30th at 5:00PM before games versus the Buffalo Junior Sabres (10:00AM) and the Aurora Tigers (5:00PM) on August 31st. Kent Lewis stated the Canucks Junior Classic will help the team bond and allow some younger prospects to make an impression in front of scouts. “The Niagara Falls tournament gives our players a chance to bond together before the season gets underway. The tournament will also allow us to bring some of our younger prospects as well and give them a chance to make a good early impression with NCAA and U Sport coaches.”
Lewis went on to say that the team looks to hit the ground running when the OJHL season opens up for the team on September 8th at Pickering. “It’s great to get a good mix of games to have the boys gel. This mixed in with a small camp and a solid two weeks of practice, we look to be more than ready for the start of the season”.
