It was another tough weekend for the Drumheller Dragons.
In back-to-back games on Saturday and Sunday, the Dragons lost 8-5 to the Calgarys Mustangs and a nail-biting 2-1 in a shootout to the Brooks Bandits.
It didn’t take long for the scoring to start on Saturday, when the Dragons hosted the Mustangs. The Dragons opened the game looking strong, but soon were pinned down in their own end struggling to clear the puck.
The Mustangs kept up the pressure and, at 8:35 into the first, scored on Steven Glass who started in goal for the Dragons.
The Dragons mounted an offensive of their own and scored just under a minute later. Dallas Smith passed out front from behind the Mustangs net to a waiting Colton Vannucci.
The game was tied only briefly. The Mustangs came back hard and scored three more goals in the first, the fourth of which was a careless pass by Curtis Skip to a waiting Mustang.
In the second, the Mustangs scored two more early goals to make it 6-1.
Joey Raats, off of Ethan James and Brody Valette, would take advantage of a powerplay at 12:36 into the second to make it 6-2.
The third was back and forth as the Dragons regained some momentum. The Mustangs would score twice more, while the Dragons put three goals away, two of which were on the powerplay, to make the final score 8-5.
The following afternoon, the Dragons hosted the ever deadly Bandits.
The Dragons fought hard against the reigning AJHL champions and took a 1-0 lead late in the first. The Dragons held off the Bandits until Cody Fiala took a 2 minute boarding penalty, which gave the Bandits a man advantage. The Bandits struck and tied the game 1-1.
For the remaining regulation time, the two teams fought back and forth, but neither could gain an edge. The game went to overtime, but the stalemate continued.
The game was finally decided in a shootout. Brandon Lee scored on the Bandits second shot, but the Dragons shooters couldn’t retaliate. The Bandits took a narrow 2-1 win.
The Dragons were in action last night against the Mustangs, but the results were not available as of press time.
The two losses leave the Dragons with a 2-3-1 record and in fifth place of the AJHL Southern Division behind the Okotoks Oilers.
The Dragons head to Spruce Grove this weekend to play in the AJHL Showcase. The Dragons play on Friday against the Grande Prairie Storm and the Sherwood Park Crusaders the next day. The Dragons next home game is on October 4 against the Spruce Grove Saints.
Colton Vannucci (centre) crashes the net in the Drumheller Dragons 8-5 loss to the Calgary Mustangs on Saturday, September 21. The Dragons had another tough weekend, losing to both the Mustangs and the Brook Bandits. The Dragons will be looking to get back on a winning track this weekend during the AJHL showcase.
