After an eight game losing streak, the Drumheller Dragons have taken a win against the Calgary Mustangs to close out November.
Monday night the Dragons travelled to Calgary to face the Mustangs. The Dragons opened the scoring in the first period with a goal by Connor Boyd at 7:10. With under one minute remaining in the first Jacob Schofield gave the Dragons a 2-0 lead. With one second remaining in the first period, the Mustangs made it a 2-1 game.
There were no goals scored in the second period. Schofield scored his second goal of the night at 1:21 of the third period on the power play. Less than five minutes later, Ryan Chynoweth scored to make the final score 4-1 Dragons. The last time the Dragons won a game was November 6 against the Mustangs at Drumheller Memorial Arena.
The Drumheller Dragons faced the Bonnyville Pontiacs on Saturday night and took an unfortunate loss.
The team wore special grey jerseys as a way to acknowledge Diabetes awareness month.
Bonnyville scored their first goal, on the power play, at 10:22 of the first period. Just over four minutes in the second period the Pontiacs scored their second of the night short handed, before Slater Dykema scored to get the Dragons on the board but that was the only goal for the Dragons. The Pontiacs scored their third, and final, goal of the game at 1:09 of the third period, on the power play, to win the game.
During the first intermission the Ultimate Pieing Championship (UPC) took place where six local celebrities received a pie in the face as a fundraiser for the Dinoarts Association. The UPC raised $2650 which was matched dollar for dollar by the Drumheller and District Chamber of Commerce for a total of $5300.
Those receiving a pie in the face included, Drumheller Mayor Terry Yemen, 99.5's Luke England, Century 21 realtor Gary Chambers, Drumheller fire chief Bruce Wade, Chrysler sales person Jamie Worman and councillor Lisa Hanson-Zacharuk.
Dragons head coach and general manager Brian Curran Saturday night said, "Well I thought we had a really great game in all honesty. If you take a look at it, two power play goals from them, one shorthanded goal, that's the story of the game. I thought we were playing against a very well coached team and a team that their sticks are in the lanes, bodies in the lanes, they blocked a ton of shots. The opportunities we give them, are the ones they scored on," he said.
"We had a cross bar, a goal post, and some really, really bad bounces. I think it is as close as I've seen us. I saw a lot of positives, the guys worked hard," he said.
The Dragons now sit in fifth place with 11 wins, 17 losses, two overtime losses and a total of 24 points behind the Canmore Eagles and the Okotoks Oilers who are tied for third place with 34 points.
Monday the Dragons also made a trade with the Brooks Bandits. Forward Ty Mappin was traded to the Bandits for 18-year-old forward Rhett Kingston and future considerations.
"I like Rhett's all-around game," Curran remarked on a post on the Dragons website announcing the trade.
"As a former Notre Dame Hound I know that we have acquired a good young man with strong character and work ethic. Kingston has always put up good numbers wherever he's been and we look forward to giving him that opportunity."
He finished by saying, "I have enjoyed my time coaching Ty. I think he is a skilled and good young man. I believe this is a smart move for the Dragons currently and as we move forward for seasons to come."
Kingston will make his debut on Friday when the Dragons host the Whitecourt Wolverines at 7:30 p.m. They will then host the Okotoks Oilers Sunday, December 6 at 2 p.m. with a skate with the Dragons happening afterwards. Both games will be played at Drumheller Memorial Arena.
