The Drumheller Dragons finally returned home last night after being on the road for ten games straight and gave a loud and clear message they aren’t to be taken lightly.
The Dragons entered the evening with a five game losing streak, but turned things around with a 5-1 win over the Olds Grizzlys.
Brian Curran, head coach and general manager of the Dragons, explained the momentum began in Camrose, where the Dragons lost by a narrow 3-2, on Sunday.
“We were trying to find ourselves an identity about what type of team we are. I know what I want, and we showed that in Camrose and again last night,” said Curran. “We’re trying to establish that we have to play the type of hockey we did in the past two games to be successful in this league. If we play that kind of hockey, we’re going to get our wins.”
The team was aggressive with the puck. They were physical and stood up for each other, and the penalty kill and power plays were strong. One of the most important changes was the boys putting themselves into position to create opportunities.
“One of the hardest things to teach young players is to not watch the player carrying the puck and go to different areas to help out that player. Now the guys without the puck are going to different areas to create opportunities,” said Curran.
“I think the realization for the boys last night, and they needed that, was that their hard work will pay off.”
The Dragons will be on the ice again tonight when they host the Okotoks Oilers, who are currently the fifth place southern division team and five points ahead of the Dragons.
“They’re a good hockey club. They have a pretty mobile defence, so we’re going to have make sure we’re pretty good on our fore check,” said Curran.
The puck drops tonight at 7:30 p.m. at the Drumheller Memorial Arena.
