After a rough week for the Drumheller Dragons, it looks like the tide has turned.
On Wednesday night, the Dragons hosted their division rivals, the Okotoks Oilers, where the Dragons demolished the Oilers by a score of 6-3.
The game started off with a lot of end-to-end play. As soon as one team would get into the offensive zone, the puck would be sent back out.
That changed when Brodie Jamieson gave the Dragons their first goal of the night off a pass from Harrison Hendrix during a two-on-one situation. From then on, the Dragons played with a renewed fire and began to assert their dominance in the Oilers zone.
The Oilers managed to tie the game up late in the first, sending both teams to the locker room with a 1-1 tie.
The Dragons wasted no time getting the upper hand again. Two minutes in to the second, relative newcomer to the team, 16 year old Tristan Thompson gave the Dragons a 2-1 lead.
Late in the second, the Dragons were down a man after a brawl between Dragons captain Brennan Baxandall and Oiler Tariq Hammond. However, being shorthanded did not stop Jamieson from scoring his second goal of the night.
Cavin Leth would give the Dragons a 4-1 lead early in the third, but the Oilers mounted a small comeback when they scored two power play goals after Hunter Mills was sent away for elbowing, Leth for roughing after the whistle, and Brad Deagle for tripping.
The Oilers were beginning to catch up, but their hopes were crushed when, only seconds after their most recent goal, Stephen Doane scored the Dragons fifth goal. Colton Vannucci would put the game out of reach with 25 seconds left in the goal when he score the Dragons sixth goal while on the power play.
It was a crucial game for the Dragons. In their prior three games, the Dragons were defeated and dropped further behind in the Oilers in the standings. The Canmore Eagles have also been on fire as of late are four points from overtaking the Dragons.
With a month to go before the AJHL playoffs begin, the Dragons are in position to earn a spot. However, their position and who they will face could be reshaped drastically in February.
The Dragons will be back on the ice on Saturday for a rematch against the Oilers in Okotoks.
Brodie Jamieson was named the Dragons player of the game when they took on the Okotoks Oilers on Wednesday night. Jamieson scored two of the Dragons six goals, one of which was the first of the night.
