A season full of accomplishments came to a close for the Drumheller Dragons on Sunday afternoon, as Drumheller easily made notched a franchise record 37 wins to cap off the 2018/19 regular season.

    Drumheller won 5-1 to the the Calgary Mustangs in a home matinee on March 3, ending the regular season in third place in the AJHL South Division with a record of 37-19-4, finishing behind Brooks and Okotoks. So ends a season which saw not only the franchise wins record behind beat, but which also saw Jordan Taupert become the top all time scorer for Drumheller and goalie Hunter Virostek getting the most wins in franchise history.

    Drumheller beat the Calgary Mustangs at home March 3 in a 5-1 victory which was a slow start for the Dragons, as three penalties in the first period slowed the Drumheller offence. The Mustangs went up 1-0 in the first before Drumheller finally answered back with a with an early second period powerplay goal by Bradley Stonnell. Drumheller would maintain majority puch control for the second period but it wasn’t until the final minute of the frame that Hassan Akl and Derrick Budz would score back-to-back goals (Budz’ on the PP), to make it 3-1 heading into the third. Shane Ott would go on to score after just 18 seconds into the third, and Budz notched his second of the afternoon soon after. Both teams were getting physical and a Mustangs player took either a high-stick or a shot to the face, leaving the ice with a broken nose and causing a delay as officials cleaned up blood left on the ice.

    The win came off a 7-3 rout of the Olds Grizzlies on the road the night prior, with Daniel Allin relieving Virostek from the net in preparation for the playoffs, which start Thursday, March 7 at home where the Dragons will get two games of home ice advantage against the Canmore Eagles. The Eagles finished fifth this season with a 30-25-5 record. Drumheller played the Eagles six times this season, winning 2 with a +10 point differential over Canmore.

    Game time is at 7:00 p.m. this Thursday at the Memorial Arena.

The regular season for Drumheller Minor Hockey has concluded and the Raptors are in the thick of the playoffs.

Drumheller Minor Hockey President Lyle Caweizel tells the Mail the Yavis Atom Raptors have qualified for provincials and will be in Duchess on March 14-17.

The Boston Pizza Bantam Raptors are playing off with Duchess for the Zone Final to qualify for Provincials. On Sunday, February 24, they fell 4-3.  Their next game is Wednesday. This is a two-game, total point series.

The Mastel Midget Raptors were strong out of the gate in playoffs and topped Cochrane 6-3 on Friday night, February 22. Ryan Hems had two goals and two assists for four points. On Sunday they travelled to Cochrane for game two but lost 4-2, evening up the three-game series. Andrew Harrington stopped 39 shots

On Saturday, February 23 the Boston Pizza Bantam Raptors took on Kneehill in the first game of the playoffs at home. They won 2-1. Joel Howard and Zachary Cawiezel scored. Game two is Saturday, March 2 at Three Hills.

The NGC Hi-Way 9 Peewee Raptors were in Airdrie on Saturday, February 23 for game one of the playoffs and stole one on the road winning 6-4 Kerric Chambers had four goals and two assists. On Sunday Airdrie came to Drumheller and the Raptors dominated winning 9-1. This time Chambers had a hat trick and four assists. Doan Stanger matched this performance.

The Yavis Atoms Raptors and the McDonald’s Novice A Raptors were not in playoff action.

The Canalta Novice B Raptors were in Three Hills Saturday to take on Kneehill and fell 13-4. Ryder Hems had a hattrick. On Sunday they were back home for game 2 and while they lost, it was a more respectable 8-4 result. Carter Burnett had two goals and an assist for three points.

Playoffs continue this week.