The Drumheller Dragons showed two southern division rivals Drumheller is a place to be feared this past week.
On Friday, the Dragons took on the Calgary Canucks at home and the following night they hosted the Olds Grizzlys and won 3-0 and 5-1, respectively.
The Canucks returned for a rematch Wednesday night, with the Dragons winning 5-2. Wednesday’s win was the team’s fourth straight and puts the Dragons within striking distance of climbing the standings.
“They [the players] are buying into what we’ve been teaching them and getting more confident. They understand what it will take for our team to be successful,” said Brian Curran, head coach and general manager of the Dragons.
The game against the Canucks was one sided from the start. In the end the Dragons sent 50 shots at the Canucks net, compared to the 22 faced by Dragons goalie Brandon Stone.
“We established the pace of play right from the start. The shots were lopsided, but a lot of them were from outside. That was our plan, to put anything at the net,” said Curran.
Dragons captain Brennan Baxandall, with help from Ryan Aasman and Mitchell Cook, scored the first goal of the night while on the power play 13:10 into the game. Baxandall followed up with a short handed goal off of Tanner Kissik 4:31 into the second period. Stephen Doane from Joey Raats gave the Dragons their third and final goal of the night at 11:34 into the second.
The Grizzlys came into the Dragons den the next evening and the Dragons continued on the momentum they generated over the previous two games.
Dragons points leader Brodie Jamieson from Mitchell Gartner opened the scoring for the night 2:59 into the game while on the power play. Before the end of the first period, Christopher Rauckman, off of Brad Deagle, increased the Dragons lead to 2-0.
The Grizzlys snuck the puck by Dragons goalie Adam Beukeboom half way through the second, but the Dragons retaliated soon after with another power play goal from Baxandall, with help from Gartner. Gartner, off of Baxandall, followed up with another power play goal 0:39 into the third. The Dragons didn’t relent and Stephen Doane, from Tyler Kerner, gave the Dragons their fifth goal of the night.
Baxandall was named the home star for the night. Over the past two games, he’s racked up three goals and one assist. He’s on track to surpass his point totals from last year.
“I think what he’s found with Brad Deagle, Mitchell Gartner, and Ryan Aasman back on defence, he’s picking time and places to go. He’s played very well. He doesn’t give up. If he continues, good things are going to happen for him,” said Curran.
On Wednesday night, the Canucks returned for a rematch. The Dragons got off to a sluggish start and gave up two goals in only seven minutes of play. Afterwards, the team came back with a vengeance.
Ryan Bloom, off a pass from Dakota Zaharichuk, got the Dragons fired up with a short handed goal nine minutes into the first. Before the period was out, Colton Vanucci and Mitchell Gartner followed up with two more goals to give the Dragons the lead.
The Dragons kept pouring shots at the Canucks net over the next two periods. Tyler Kerner and Brodie Jamieson got two more goals before the game was done.
The Dragons special teams are a big part of the Dragons success as is goaltending. The team is currently second in the league for power play goals and in the past three games, the team has only allowed two goals.
The Dragons have also had quite a few players return from the injury list.
“We were able to get our injured players back. We were playing with a very young lineup and when you add our veterans back in the lineup, that’s helped the confidence of our young players,” said Curran.
The Dragons will be back on home ice on Saturday when they host the Calgary Mustangs. The puck drops at 7:30 p.m.
“I was happy with the boys, they competed very hard. I believe it’s been a good start for our last three games,” said Curran. “Last week was a good chance for us to get back in the race and I think we’ve put ourselves in a position to do that.”
