It was not the way the Drumheller Dragons wanted to end the regular season, leaving their playoff fate in the hands of another team.
Things could not have been closer, but the Canmore Eagles failed to surpass the Dragons in the standings, meaing the Dragons are headed to the AJHL playoffs to compete for the Enerflex Cup.
Last week was tense for the Dragons.
The Dragons had a chance on Thursday, February 16, to control their playoff future when they faced the Okotoks Oilers for their final game of the season. The Dragons were beaten 4-1.
It was a must win situation for the Dragons. Before the game, the Dragons were three points ahead of the Canmore Eagles. The Dragons had one game left, whereas the Eagles had two.
Three points by the Eagles was all it would take to send the Dragons to the off season early.
In their final game, the Dragons could not hold back the tide of Oilers. In the first period, Dragons missed opportunities, gave away interceptions, and struggled to keep the puck in the offensive zone.
The Oilers flooded Braden Gamble, goalie for the Dragons, with 21 shots in the first period alone. Gamble could not hold back the deluge and by the end of the first period the Oilers were ahead by a daunting three goals.
“We definitely had a slow start, being down 3-0. We battled back, but it was too little, too late,” said head coach Barry Wolff. “They were confident and prepared, but it was almost a nervous start.”
After using the first intermission to regroup, the Dragons showed a renewed resolve to take the puck to the Oilers net.
“I told them we had forty minutes left and no matter what happened in the first we had a chance to win,” said Wolff.
Unfortunately, the Dragons managed to beat the Oilers goaltender only once on a goal by Sam Lawson.
The loss meant that the Eagles were in charge. The same night the Eagles defeated the Olds Grizzlys in overtime. The gap between the Dragons and Eagles was a mere one point.
On February 17 the Eagles faced the Calgary Canucks for their final game of the season. Even one point would have sent the Eagles to the playoffs instead of the Dragons.
“We were all huge Calgary Canucks fans,” said Wolff.
When it came to game time, the Eagles couldn’t keep up the momentum and lost 3-1 to the Canucks, which means the Dragons are going to the playoffs.
The Dragons will be facing the Okotoks Oilers in round one, starting on February 24 at 7:00 p.m. in Okotoks. Game two will again be in Okotoks the next night.
The playoffs come to Drumheller on Monday, February 27, at 7:30 p.m.
