The Drumheller Dragons are in the midst of a five game stretch of games on the road and have been relentlessly pushing forward in their campaign to make the AJHL playoffs.
    On Thursday, January 26, the Dragons journeyed to Calgary to face the Mustangs, who had beaten the Dragons 5-1 in their last meeting.
    The Dragons turned the tables and broke the Mustangs, winning stream 4-2.
    Things didn’t start off well for the Dragons, however. A Mustangs goal at mere 0:54 into the game followed by another at 13:23 seemed to spell trouble for the Dragons.
    Darian Henry, with help from Brodie Jamieson and Justin Cintas, breathed life into the Dragons.
    In the second period Brody Jamieson and Logan Sceviour put two more goals on the board.
    The Dragons fought their way through a 5 on 3 penalty kill in the third period and were able to put the game out of reach on an empty net goal by Ryan Bloom in the dying seconds of the game.
    Two nights later the Dragons were in Calgary again to face the Canucks and keep their momentum going. Unfortunately, the Dragons were overpowered by the Canucks and lost 4-1.
    The Canucks got the upper hand late into the first period on a powerplay goal. The Canucks did not relent and scored three more goals, two of which were on the powerplay, by the time Doug Jones got the Dragons their only goal at 15:52 into the third period.
    The Dragons regrouped and headed to Olds on Monday to meet the Grizzlys in their den. The Grizzlys have been the victors in the last two meetings with the Dragons.
    However, in this meeting of the two, the Dragons came out with a vital 2-1 win.
    The Grizzlys took the lead early at 5:51 into the first period, but Doug Jones, with help from Josh McKissock and Davin Stener, tied the game up on the powerplay before the first period was done.
    The game remained tied until well into the third when Sam Lawson, with the assist from Brennan Baxandall and Braden Gamble, put the puck into the back of the Grizzlys net for the Dragons second and game winning goal.
    The star of the Dragons in the Grizzlys game was undoubtedly Gamble who was a virtual brickwall in net. Gamble stopped 57 of the 58 shots sent his way.
    The wins vault the Dragons over the Canmore Eagles for the last playoff spot in the southern division. The Eagles have one more game left in their season compared to the Dragons.
    The Dragons will have to generate more wins on the road to stay in the playoffs. The Dragons will be in Camrose tonight to face the Kodiaks. The two teams last met on December 17, 2011, and the Dragons left that game with a 3-1 win.

    After two wins this past week, the Drumheller Dragons are poised to overtake the Canmore Eagles in the standings and secure a spot in the playoffs.
    The Dragons were in Calgary to face the Mustangs on Thursday, January 19, hoping to build upon their win against the Calgary Canucks two days prior.
    Unfortunately, the Dragons couldn’t rein in the Mustangs, and lost 5-1.
    The Mustangs got to the scoreboard first, but Sam Lawson, with help from Tye Hand and Ryan Bloom, was able to tie the game up for the Dragons two minutes later. The teams went to the first intermission with a 1-1 tie.
    A boarding penalty for Logan Scevior proved to be damaging, as the Mustangs were able to take advantage and get a 2-1 lead at 4:44 into the second period.
    The Dragons slipped further behind when Tye Hand was called for interference and Bryton Mills incurred a charging penalty. The Mustangs scored another goal against the short handed Dragons.
    The Mustangs pulled ahead even further, scoring two goals late in the game.
    “We had our chances to win that game, so the guys are definitely working hard to win,” said head coach Barry Wolff.
    The Dragons returned home to face the St. Albert Steel two nights later on Saturday, January 21. The Steel rusted under the Dragons onslaught and the Dragons won 4-0, their first shut out this season.
    The Dragons came out fast and hard hitting which paid off at 14:10 into the first period when Josh McKissock took advantage of a scramble around the Steel net and snapped the puck in.
    A mere 43 seconds later, Giovanni Bombini on a breakaway and using some tricky moves snuck the puck into the Steel net for the Dragons second goal.
    The Dragons continued to pressure the Steel throughout the second period. Josh McKissock scored his second goal of the night with help from Brody Robinson and Kenton Levesque at 19:00 into the second period.
    The Dragons fourth and final goal of the game was scored by Sam Lawson, assisted by Ryan Bloom and Josh Kluck, on a powerplay courtesy of a Steel hooking penalty.
    The win puts the Dragons closer to a spot in the playoffs. The Dragons are currently tied at 29 points with the Canmore Eagles. However, the Dragons are still behind, because they have one more loss than the Eagles. The Dragons need to string together more wins to get ahead.
    Those wins will have to come on the road against the Dragons southern division rivals. Starting on Thursday, January 26, the Dragons will play against the Calgary Mustangs, Calgary Canucks, and the Olds Grizzlys. The Dragons will not return to play at home until February 7.
    “We’re taking it one game at time. There isn’t a team on the schedule we can’t beat,” said Wolff. “We just need to play consistently and continue to get better every day.”