The boards were rocking Wednesday night at the Drumheller Memorial Arena when the Dragons hosted the undefeated Brooks Bandits.
The Dragons attempted to rein-in the Bandits, but lost by a close 2-0.
“We’re trying to get the type of game we need to play. We’re playing against, right now, the best team in Canada. We tried several different things to see how they would work,” said Brian Curran, head coach and general manager of the Dragons. “We had success at times. Our goal was to not allow anything at the crease area, so they wouldn’t have second and third chances on our goaltender. We did a really good job on that.”
The Bandits scored their first goal while the Dragons were short-handed following a slashing penalty called against Tanner Kissick. The second Bandits goal came two minutes into the third from a long shot from the blue line.
“Stone would love to have it [the second goal] back, because he played a great game,” said
Curran.
The Dragons had opportunities of their own, including a breakaway attempt by Mitchell Gartner.
“Against a team like Brooks you have to make the best of every opportunity. We had two chances there that didn’t go our way,” said Curran.
The last time the Dragons met the Bandits, the result was a 9-0 loss. Curran was happier with the Dragons performance on Wednesday night.
“It was a pretty physical game back and forth. I liked a lot of the things we did, but there are a few we have to work on. From that game to this one was night and day. Our approach to the way we play them was different and the fact we had two of our veteran forwards back in the lineup last night who play a physical game...they helped immensely,” said Curran.
The Dragons will be on the road this weekend to face the Spruce Grove Saints tonight and the Sherwood Park Crusaders on Sunday. The Dragons will return home Friday, November 16 to face the Calgary Canucks.
