The Drumheller Dragons are continuing to build momentum after racking up two wins over the weekend, despite a hectic road schedule.
On Friday, November 1, the Dragons made the trek to face the Whitecourt Wolverines on their own turf and came away with a dramatic 5-3 win.
The game started off fairly evenly matched, though the Wolverines got off to a 1-0 lead 8:19 minutes into the game.
The Dragons bounced back and turned the game around in the second, outshooting the Wolverines 17-9 and taking a 2-1 lead. Trent Ouellette gave the Dragons their first goal of the night on the powerplay halfway through the second. Before the period was out, Hunter Mills followed up with the Dragons’ second goal.
The momentum shifted again in the beginning of the third period to the Wolverines favour. They racked up two more goals, taking up a 3-2 lead with only nine minutes to go.
The Dragons surged back, and scored three more goals, one more by Ouellette, and two by Christopher Rauckman.
The following night, the Dragons headed up to Grande Prairie to face the Storm. The Dragons fought hard for a 3-1 win.
The Storm were roaring off the bat, however, outshooting the Dragons 14-9 in the first and taking a 1-0 lead.
The Dragons came back in the second and stepped up the pressure, but Storm goalie Nick Kulmanovsky held firm, stopping 15 shots. It wasn’t until the second half of the third that the Dragons began to make some headway.
Dragons veteran Colton Vannucci had a big weekend, scoring two goals, including the game winner, on Saturday versus the Grande Prairie Storm. Vannucci has been one of the Dragons’ key players, racking up 5 goals and 8 assists so far this season. The Dragons are at home on Saturday, November 9, versus the Whitecourt Wolverines.
Jacob Bonin, who joined the Dragons on October 27, gave the Dragons their first goal of the night. Colton Vannucci then scored back-to-back to propel the Dragons to a 3-1 win.
By Sunday, when the Dragons were in Spruce Grove to face the Saints, the hectic road trip appeared to take its toll on the team and the Dragons lost 4-1.
Unlike the prior two games, the Dragons initially had the upper hand. Bonin scored the first goal of the night to make it 1-0 for the Dragons heading into the first intermission. However, the Saints came marching in when the puck dropped on the second.
The Saints tied the game up at 5:47 into the second and then scored a morale crushing short-handed goal several minutes later. By the end of the second they had taken a 3-1 lead.
The Dragons stepped up the pressure in the third, but couldn’t get past the Saints defence. The Dragons pulled goalie Jonny Hogue in the dying minute, but it only served to give the Saints their fourth and final goal of the night.
The two wins give the Dragons a 11-9-2 record with 24 points. They are currently in third place of the AJHL Southern Division and only three points behind the Okotoks Oilers.
The Dragons look to deal a blow to the Oilers on Friday, when they head to Okotoks. The Dragons then return home on Saturday at 7 p.m. for a rematch against the Wolverines.
