Dragons continue comeback with victory over Saints
The wins keep coming for the Drumheller Dragons. Now, they are poised to climb the ranks in the AJHL standings after a vital win over the Spruce Grove Saints, their sixth loss of the season.
On Friday night, the Saints came to the Drumheller Memorial Arena in front of a fired up Dragons crowd.
The Dragons, coming off a loss to the Canmore Eagles on October 21, got on track with the aggressive play style they have been honing over the past two weeks. Their efforts paid off with a 4-3 overtime win.
The Saints were the first to get on the scoreboard, sending a shot by Dragons goalie Braden Stone, who was recruited from the Kindersley Klippers of the SJHL on October 3.
The Dragons retaliated halfway through the second period, thanks to Ryan Bloom, who scored his sixth goal of the season unassisted.
The Dragons penalty kill was back on track after their meeting with the Eagles, where they let in four goals while shorthanded.
However, a high sticking penalty to Dragons defenseman Ryan Suchorab cost the Dragons late in the second period. The penalty killing squad had almost killed their third penalty of the evening, when, with only eight seconds left until Suchorab returned to even the teams, the Saints scored.
Just over a minute later, the Saints penetrated the Dragons defense again and scored. By the end of the second period, the Dragons were down 3-1.
The Dragons fought hard to tie things up. Captain, Brennan Baxandall, with help from Christopher Rauckman, sent in the Dragons second goal.
When the final minute of the game came, the Dragons were still down by one goal. However, the Saints had incurred a high sticking penalty, leaving the Dragons with a two man advantage after Stone was pulled from net.
The game could not have come any closer. The Saints desperately attempted to fight off the Dragons onslaught, but with only three seconds left, Mitchell Gartner, from Hunter Mills, sent the tieing goal into the back of the Saints net.
The game went into overtime. Just under two minutes in, Christopher Rauckman, with help from Ryan Aasman, scored the winning goal of the game for the Dragons.
The win gives the Dragons a 6-10-1 record, with 13 points. The Dragons are currently in the last spot of the southern division of the AJHL, but are only two points behind the Olds Grizzlys.
Dragons maul Grizzlys for seventh win of season
The momentum keeps building for the Drumheller Dragons. In the last five games, the Dragons are 4-1 and have moved up the standings with a 5-3 win over the Olds Grizzlys.
In the first period alone the Dragons sent a barrage of shots, 21, at the Grizzlys net. In return, the Dragons only faced three.
The onslaught of offence paid off when captain Brennan Baxandall, off a pass from Joey Ratts, scored the opening goal of the night on a power play.
“They had some pretty strong goaltending. We had enough chances in the first period to put the game away,” said Brian Curran, head coach and general manager of the Dragons.
Baxandall repeated just under two minutes into the second with another power play goal, set up by Brodie Jamieson and Mitchell Gartner.
Mitch Owsley, who was one of the Dragons big point scorers last year, retaliated for the Grizzlys after the Dragons were left a man short after being called for a blow to the head.
Soon after, the Dragons were up a man again, and Stephen Doane, with help from Baxandall and Mitchell Cook, scored the Dragons third goal of the night. The Grizzlys snuck a shot by Dragons goalie Adam Beukeboom seconds later, making it 3-2 at the close of the second period.
The Grizzlys redoubled their efforts, sending a flurry of shots at Beukeboom. However, the Dragons held on and Ryan Bloom, off of Jamieson, sent a message with a short handed goal with just over six minutes left in the game.
The Grizzlys, desperate to tie things up, fought back and brought the score within one with less than a minute left in the game. In a bid to tie it up, the Grizzlys pulled their goalie, but Doane, took advantage and scored on the empty net.
The Dragons will be looking to continue the momentum next Wednesday when they host the undefeated Brooks Bandits at the Drumheller Memorial Arena. The game starts at 7:30 p.m.
“The team is getting their identity and they know the game they have to play to be successful,” said Curran. “They’ve [the Bandits] got a pretty damn good record. We have to make sure we bring our game. I want to see our game against them and we play it to 100 per cent.”
