What a weekend for your Drumheller Dragons with two big games against teams they are battling for the lead in the AJHL South Division.
It would all start on Friday night at home against the Canmore Eagles and what a start it would be. The Dragons would out chance the Eagles throughout the first period but Canmore would get on the board first with Cohen Daoust scoring with 7:48 remaining in the period. Canmore would lead 1-0 after one.
Again in the second, the Dragons would outshoot the Eagles by a 17-6 margin but Canmore would score their second of the game with 1:44 left in the period, with a goal by Aidan Tkachuk.
The Dragons would get the spark they needed 3:10 into the third period as the team would have a five on three powerplay. Jensen Marsh would score his 10th of the year, assisted by Jacob Goudreau and Tristan Payne, cutting the lead to 2-1 Eagles. Then, with 11:30 remaining in the period, Marsh would score his second of the game (11), assisted by Bradley Gallo, tying things up 2-2. The Dragons would win a faceoff deep in the Canmore zone with just under 10 seconds left in the game and with less than a second on the clock, Dragons forward Jase Johnstone would score the winning goal (4), from Tristan Payne and Bradley Gallo.
After the goal, the Dragons would be celebrating the win and the Eagles didn’t appreciate their over-exuberance. Defender Carter Kowalyk would come off the Canmore bench and get into it with Jensen Marsh. Gloves would fly with Dragons netminder Sean Cootes getting involved, throwing a couple of punches, along with Dragons forward Bradley Gallo. Kowalyk would get a four game suspension from his actions. Cootes would end up with a three game suspension and Gallo with two games.
The Dragons would take the momentum from that close game into Calgary on Saturday night as they would face the Canucks. The Canucks were only two points back of the Dragons heading into the game so it would be a pivotal four point matchup against Calgary.
It would be a back and forth battle in the first period with both teams having chances, although the Dragons would have more of the dangerous scoring opportunities than the Canucks. The game would remain tied 0-0 after the first period.
In the second, the Dragons would open the scoring with 5:52 remaining in the period with Wyatt Yule scoring off a rebound from a Luca Dufour shot. Rowan McDonald would get the other assist. Only 1:46 later, the Dragons would increase their lead when Wyatt Yule scored his second of the game, from Tristan Payne and Rowan McDonald. The Dragons would outshoot the Canucks 15-8 and take the 2-0 lead to the third period.
Early in the third, Lachlan Kozicky would score his 8th of the year, from Allen Sherpa, increasing the Dragons lead to 3-0 at 5:31. Drumheller would add another at 12:10 when Dallin Antos tallied his 5th of the year, from Nick McLennan and Wyatt Yule. Brandon Williams made a spectacular save in the third to keep his shut-out bid in tact but with 3:04 remaining, Calgary’s Josh Kelly would score, cutting the lead to 4-1 Dragons.
With Wyatt Yule scoring two and one assist, it would be the first time in his 100 AJHL games that he would have a three point night. The Dragons, with the two wins over the weekend, are now in first place in the AJHL South Division, one up on Camrose and two on Canmore. The Dragons also stretch their winning streak to four games as they prepare for a northern road trip to Grande Prairie this upcoming weekend. They have two games, Saturday night at 6 PM and Sunday afternoon at 2. Both games can be heard on New Country 92.5 with Jason Blanke.
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