Sports | DrumhellerMail

Titans show discipline in Strathmore win

The Senior Titans found redemption versus Strathmore last Saturday, with a win.

While the game as largely symbolic, being the final game for both teams this season in Rangeland League play, the Titans went to Strathmore with something to prove. After being beat just a couple weeks before, this time the Titans had the last word.

“We had a lot of mistakes the first time we played them, but we cleaned that up and played a pretty good game,” said coach Ken Fournier.

This time the Titans only had one turnover, and bounced back on defense. They were tough as Devon Law had four bat downs, Shawn McTaggart had two, and Reid Nielsen had an interception.

“Our defensive coverage was much better. They did get a long pass in, but we denied them a long run with it,” said Coach Fournier. “We had really good pressure from our defensive line.”

On offense, the Titans were humming.

“Aiden Enns scored three touchdowns, and the runs were all over 30 yards,” said Fournier. He had at least 150 yards on the ground.

Derek Carrier and Noah Miles also both scored.

Fournier explains the team did much more passing than it normally does, a sign the running game is firing. The key for Fournier was discipline.

“It was a much more focused game. All week we worked on discipline and focus. We ran each series in that entire week of practice; we ran our offense, with no huddle. It made a big difference for us in the first quarter. We were able to keep them on their heels and they were not able to make any adjustments.”

The Titans were up 21-6 after the first half, and went on to win 35-13.

Playoffs are still a ways off. This Friday night they are hosting Cardston in exhibition play.

“They are in the same position as us, they are out of their league play, so they are looking to stay sharp,” said Fournier. “You can’t sit for three weeks and go into provincials against teams that are just finishing league playoffs. We want to keep ourselves sharp and keep our focus level high.”

With this win, the Titans slide into 7th place, up from 9th in the Tier IV provincial rankings. This Friday’s game time is 7 p.m.

McDonald’s Novice Raptors have strong weekend

minor hockey oct 25

The Drumheller Raptors minor hockey teams were in action this weekend at Memorial Arena.

The McDonald’s Novice Raptors hosted the Lethbridge Flyers on Sunday morning and took a 5-1 victory.

Scoring began early in the first period when Ryan Schrock scored for the Raptors. Just a few moments later he scored his second goal of the game. With just a few seconds remaining in the first period Paxton Olsen scored to make it 3-0 Drumheller.

Paxton scored his second goal of the game before Gavin Olsen scored to make it 5-0. Lethbridge scored their lone goal with just a minute left in the second by Caiden Dragland. There was no scoring in the third period.

On Saturday, the team travelled to Hussar to face Indus and went home with a 33-1 win.

Head coach Dennis Olsen said the team played well.

“They played real good positions. The defense did a good job, the goaltending was real well, they all played really well together,” he said.

The team has played four league games so far this season.

Olsen said the team is working on its break out and passing in practice.

Next up the team will host Hanna on Halloween at 9 a.m.

Other teams in the league were in action as well. On Saturday, the Canalta Novice Raptors hosted Chestermere and took a 5-4 loss, the Yavis Atom Raptors hosted Lethbridge and took a 10-5 loss, the NGC Peewee Raptors hosted Chestermere and tied 7-7 on Saturday, the Western Chev Bantam Raptors hosted the Rocky Mountain House AA and took a 5-1 loss On Sunday, the Encana Atom Raptors hosted Indus and took a 6-0 win, and the Boston Pizza Bantam Raptors hosted the Airdrie Red team and took 12-1 loss.

Dragons road woes come to end after 4-3 shootout win in Olds

dragons photo oct 23

The Drumheller Dragons road record has finally increased.

Before Saturday night (October 24), the Dragons had not won a game on the road since October 3 during the Alberta Junior ‘A’ Hockey League Showcase.

Saturday the team travelled to Olds to face the Grizzlys for the first time in the regular season.

Scoring got underway at 1:41 of the first period when Matt Muzyka scored for the Dragons. The Grizzlys tied it up less than five minutes later. By the end of the first period, the Grizzlys were leading 2-1 after a power play goal at 18:29.

The Dragons flew out in the second period with two back-to-back goals, the second on the power play, to lead the game 3-2. At the 15-minute mark, the Grizzlys Josh Michener scored on the power play to tie the game. With no scoring in the third period, the teams forced an overtime period.

After five minutes of overtime, the score didn’t change and a shootout was required.

Evan Rochowaik scored for the Dragons on the sixth round to win the game 4-3.

At home Friday night the Dragons faced the Calgary Canucks. This is the second time the Canucks have visited the Memorial Arena this season, but the fourth time the two teams have met.

The Dragons’ Ty Mappin opened scoring at 13:16 of the first period. The Canucks tied the game just over a minute later leaving the first period score at one goal each.

The second period saw Ryan Chynoweth score his 10th goal of the season at 4:21 on the power play to give the Dragons a 2-1 lead. Just over half way through the period, Mappin scored his second of the game and shortly thereafter Connor Duncan scored to make the final score 4-1.

Dragons captain defenseman Connor Duncan said he had a tiring first game back after being out with an injury for six games.

“It’s a great feeling. It was great to watch the guys really pull together and play as a team for pretty much 60 minutes,” he said.

Forward Ryan Chynoweth also played his first game back after being out for the same amount of games.

The Dragons will now head on the road to Okotoks on Friday night before returning home to host the Olds Grizzlys on Halloween. There will be candy and prizes for kids of all ages. Game time is 7:30 p.m. at Drumheller Memorial Arena.

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