The Wellington Dukes are a Junior "A" ice hockey team from Wellington, Ontario, Canada. They are in the Eastern Division of the Ontario Junior Hockey League and used to be a part of the Metro Junior A Hockey League. Originally a Junior C team in the 1970s and 1980s, the Dukes merged with the neighbouring Jr. B Belleville Bobcats and took their place in the Metro League. The Dukes have won the Dudley Hewitt Cup as Central Canadian Junior A Champions three times (2003, 2011, 2018). The Dukes also won the Buckland Cup (OJHL Champions) for the third time on April 22, 2018.

Wellington Dukes
CityWellington, Ontario, Canada
LeagueOntario Junior Hockey League
FoundedPrior to 1977
Home arenaLehigh Arena
ColoursRed, Yellow, and Blue
     
Owner(s)Ken Clement
General managerTodd Diminie
Head coachKent Lewis
AffiliatePicton Pirates (PJHL)
Championships
Playoff championships3: 2003, 2011, 2018

History

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In the 1970s and early 1980s, the Wellington Dukes were members of the Quinte-St. Lawrence Junior C Hockey League. The league folded in 1986. The Dukes joined the Central Junior C Hockey League in 1986. They moved up to Metro "B" in 1989 when they took over the Belleville Bobcats franchise, and moved up to Junior "A" in 1991. The Dukes have been in the OPJHL since 1998. In 2003, the Dukes defeated the Aurora Tigers 4-games-to-2 to win the Frank L. Buckland Trophy. At the Dudley Hewitt Cup tournament, the Dukes first beat the Fort Frances Borderland Thunder of the Superior International Junior Hockey League by a score of 7–1. They were defeated 2-1 by the North Bay Skyhawks of the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League. They then defeated the Thunder Bay Bulldogs of the SIJHL 7–4 to finish second in the round robin. In the semi-final, the Dukes defeated Fort Frances 4–2. In the final, they defeated the North Bay Skyhawks by a convincing score of 4–0 to win the Central Canadian Championship.

At the Royal Bank Cup 2003, their National tournament started with a 4–1 loss to the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League's Humboldt Broncos. In the second game, the Dukes were embarrassed by the Alberta Junior Hockey League's Camrose Kodiaks 7–1. In the third game, the Dukes battled for their lives. In a hard battle with the Charlottetown Abbies of the Maritime Junior A Hockey League the Dukes prevailed 1–0 in overtime. Their final round robin game, the Dukes defeated the Lennoxville Cougars of the Quebec Junior AAA Hockey League 5–2 to finish third in the round robin. In the semi-finals, the Dukes squared off against Humboldt again and were defeated 3–2. Humboldt moved on to win the Royal Bank Cup as National Champions.

In 2008, the Dukes joined the semi-autonomous Central Division, that formed the Central Canadian Hockey League in 2009 when the OJHL was dissolved.

The Wellington Dukes defeated the hosts Huntsville Otters 5–3 to win the 2011 Dudley-Hewitt Cup. The Dukes travelled west to participate in the Royal Bank Cup in Camrose, Alberta. Wellington returned to the Quinte after a 4–1 loss to the Vernon Vipers.

Wellington was chosen to host the 2014 Dudley-Hewitt Cup at their new arena. The Dukes finished no higher than 5th in the North-East conference losing to the Cobourg Cougars in the first round 4 games to 1. The Dukes endured nearly 2 months of a playoff layoff. The Dukes entered the tournament. The Dukes finished the round robin with a 3–0 record, but lost the final to the Toronto Lakeshore Patriots 2–1.

The franchise scoring record was set by Howie Dowdle in 1988-89 scoring 51 goals, and 73 assists in 39 games played. This feat won Howie the Elleanor Gilliam Memorial Trophy as the Central Ontario Jr. "C" Scoring Champion.

Season-by-season record

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Note: GP = Games Played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTL = Overtime Losses, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against

Year GP W L T OTL GF GA PTS Finish Playoffs
1977-78 32 21 10 1 - 194 146 43 1st QSLJHL
1978-79 Standings Not Available
1979-80 32 13 16 3 - 169 179 29 4th QSLJHL
1980-81 34 15 13 6 - -- -- 36 3rd QSLJHL
1981-82 34 11 17 6 - -- -- 28 5th QSLJHL
1982-83 34 23 6 5 - 246 116 51 1st QSLJHL Won League
1983-84 Standings Not Available
1984-85 30 11 14 5 - 165 174 27 4th QSLJHL
1985-86 Standings Not Available
1986-87 Central Jr. C Standings Not Available
1987-88 32 22 7 3 - 222 142 47 3rd COJCHL
1988-89 40 23 12 5 - 275 172 51 2nd COJCHL Lost final (Lakefield)
1989-90 44 25 15 4 - 235 178 54 5th Metro B Lost quarter-final (Kingston)
1990-91 44 24 14 6 - 209 180 54 4th Metro B Lost quarter-final (Oshawa)
1991-92 44 19 22 3 - 180 195 41 7th Metro A Lost Preliminary (Pickering)
1992-93 48 28 17 3 - 248 188 59 2nd Metro A Lost semi-final (Wexford)
1993-94 50 28 20 2 - 263 225 58 5th Metro A Lost quarter-final (Thornhill)
1994-95 50 27 18 5 - 231 191 59 3rd Metro A Lost quarter-final (Wexford)
1995-96 52 26 23 3 - 219 222 55 7th Metro A Lost quarter-final (Wexford)
1996-97 50 21 26 3 - 212 224 45 8th Metro A Lost Division Semi-final (Quinte)
1997-98 50 23 22 5 - 223 213 51 7th Metro A Lost quarter-final (Oshawa)
1998-99 51 23 23 3 2 205 223 51 7th OPJHL-E Lost Division Quarter-final (Trenton)
1999-00 49 33 9 6 1 257 144 73 2nd OPJHL-E Lost Division Final (Lindsay)
2000-01 49 30 9 6 4 226 142 70 2nd OPJHL-E Lost Division Semi-final (Trenton)
2001-02 49 37 5 7 0 238 116 81 1st OPJHL-E Lost final (Brampton)
2002-03 49 47 1 1 0 298 87 95 1st OPJHL-E Won League(x1) (Aurora)
Won DHC (North Bay)
Lost RBC Semi-final (Humboldt)
2003-04 49 37 5 3 4 253 134 81 1st OPJHL-E Lost Division Final (Bowmanville)
2004-05 49 35 11 2 1 222 148 73 2nd OPJHL-E Lost Division Final (Port Hope)
2005-06 49 33 8 6 2 261 120 74 3rd OPJHL-E Lost Division Semi-final (Port Hope)
2006-07 49 38 5 4 2 219 92 82 2nd OPJHL-E Lost final (Aurora)
2007-08 49 34 11 - 4 202 113 72 1st OPJHL-E Lost Conference Final (Markham)
2008-09 53 35 13 - 5 252 181 75 1st OJHL-C Lost semi-final (Oakville)
2009-10 50 31 12 - 7 172 128 69 2nd CCHL-E Lost Division Final (Bowmanville)
2010-11 50 38 7 - 5 197 128 81 1st OJHL-E Won League (x2) (Oakville)
Won DHC (Huntsville)
Lost RBC Semi-final (Vernon)
2011-12 49 33 12 - 4 208 124 70 3rd OJHL-E Lost div quarter-final (Kingston)
2012-13 55 29 22 - 4 162 148 62 4th OJHL-E Lost Conf Quarter-final (Kingston)
2013-14 53 33 14 - 6 199 143 72 4th OJHL-E Lost Conf Quarter-final (Cobourg)
2014-15 - - - - - - - - - -
2015-16 54 32 19 2 1 202 154 67 3rd of 5 East Div
4th of 11 NE Conf
10th of 22 OJHL
Won Conf. Quarters 4-2 (Aurora)
Lost Conf. Semifinals 1-4 (Golden Hawks)
2016-17 54 31 19 3 1 190 140 66 4th of 5 East Div
4th of 11 NE Conf
7th of 22 OJHL
Won Conf. Quarters 4-3 (Fury)
Lost Conf. Semifinals, 1-4 (Cougars)
2017-18 54 33 13 3 5 207 153 74 1st of 5 East
2nd of 11 NE Conf
5th of 22 OJHL
Won Conf. Quarters 4-3 (Panthers)
Won Conf. Semifinals 4-3 (Hurricanes)
Won Conf. Finals 4-1 (Aurora)
Won OJHL Finals 4-2 (Raiders)

OJHL Champions (x3)
2018-19 54 29 19 1 5 193 167 64 4th of 6 East
5th of 11 SE Conf
7th of 22 OJHL
Won Conf. Quarters 4-1 (Cougars)
Won Conf. Semifinals 4-3 (Fury)
Won Conf. Finals 4-3 (rangers)
Lost OJHL Finals 0-4(Blades)
2019-20 54 42 9 2 0 242 132 86 1st of 5 East
1st of 11 NE Conf
1st of 22 OJHL
Won Conf. Quarters 4-0 (Cougars)
Remaining playoffs cancelled
due to COVID_19 pandemic(x3)
2020-21 Season cancelled due to COVID-19
2021-22 55 34 13 1 7 204 145 76 1st of 5 East
3rd of 11 SE Conf
8th of 21 OJHL
Lost Conf. Quarters 0-2 (Cougars)
2022-23 54 37 11 4 2 252 134 80 2nd of 11 SE Conf
4th of 21 OJHL
Won Conf. Quarters 4-1 (Buzzers)
Won Conf. Semifinals 4-0 (Huskies)
Lost Conf. Finals 1-4 (GoldenHawks)
2023-24 56 35 18 0 3 213 159 73 3rd of 12 East Conf
6th of 24 OJHL
Lost Conf. Quarters 1-4 (Jr. Canadiens)

Playoffs

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MetJHL Years

  • 1990 Lost quarter-final
Kingston Voyageurs defeated Wellington Dukes 4-games-to-3
  • 1991 Lost quarter-final
Oshawa Legionaires defeated Wellington Dukes 4-games-to-2
  • 1992 Lost Preliminary
Pickering Panthers defeated Wellington Dukes 3-games-to-none
  • 1993 Lost semi-final
Wellington Dukes defeated North York Rangers 4-games-to-none
Wexford Raiders defeated Wellington Dukes 4-games-to-none
  • 1994 Lost quarter-final
Thornhill Islanders defeated Wellington Dukes 4-games-to-1
  • 1995 Lost quarter-final
Wexford Raiders defeated Wellington Dukes 4-games-to-2
  • 1996 Lost quarter-final
Wexford Raiders defeated Wellington Dukes 4-games-to-1
  • 1997 Lost Preliminary
Quinte Hawks defeated Wellington Dukes 4-games-to-1
  • 1998 Lost quarter-final
Oshawa Legionaires defeated Wellington Dukes 3-games-to-2

OJHL Years

Dudley Hewitt Cup

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Central Canada Jr. A Championships
NOJHLOJHLSIJHL – Host
Round-robin play with 2nd vs. 3rd in semifinal to advance against 1st in the finals.

Year Round-robin Record Standing Semifinal Gold medal game
2003
Fort Frances, ON
W, Thunder Bay Bulldogs 7–4
W, Fort Frances Borderland Thunder 7–1
L, North Bay Skyhawks 1–2
2–1–0 2nd of 4 W, Fort Frances Borderland Thunder 3–2 W, North Bay Skyhawks 4–0
Dudley Hewitt Cup Champions
2011
Huntsville, ON
W, Wisconsin Wilderness 7–2
W, Soo Eagles 4–0
2OTL, Huntsville Otters 2–3
2–0–1 2nd of 4 W, Soo Eagles 3–2 (4OT) W, Huntsville Otters 5–3
Dudley Hewitt Cup Champions
2018
Dryden, ON
L, Dryden Ice Dogs 1–4
W, Thunder Bay North Stars 4–1
W, Cochrane Crunch 2–0
2–1–0 2nd of 4 W, Thunder Bay North Stars 6–3 W, Dryden Ice Dogs 7–4
Dudley Hewitt Cup Champions

Royal Bank Cup

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Canadian Jr. A National Championships
Dudley Hewitt Champions – Central, Fred Page Champions – Eastern, Doyle Cup Champion – Pacific, ANAVET Cup Champion – Western, and Host
Round-robin play with top four in semifinal games and winners to finals.

Year Round-robin Record
W–OTW–OTL–L
Standing Semifinal Gold medal game
2003
Charlottetown, PEI
L, Humboldt Broncos (Western) 1–4
L, Camrose Kodiaks (Pacific) 1–7
OTW, Charlottetown Abbies (Host) 1–0
W, Lennoxville Cougars (Eastern) 5–2
1–1–0–2 3rd of 5 L, Humboldt Broncos 2–3
2011
Camrose, AB
L, Camrose Kodiaks (Host) 2–3
L, Pembroke Lumber Kings (Eastern) 2–5
L, Vernon Vipers (Pacific) 2–5
W, Portage Terriers (Western) 6–3
1–0–0–3 4th of 5 L, Vernon Vipers 1–4
2018
Chilliwack, BC
OTL, Ottawa Jr. Senators (Eastern) 1–2
OTW, Steinbach Pistons (Western) 3–2
L, Chilliwack Chiefs (Host) 0–2
L, Wenatchee Wild (Pacific) 1–7
0–1–1–2 4th of 5 W, Wenatchee Wild 2–1 L, Chilliwack Chiefs 2–4

Notable alumni

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