Three games for the Dragons in the past week....a home and home set with the South division leading Brooks Bandits, and a match in Olds Saturday against the Grizzlys.

The Dragons dropped both ends of the set with the Brooks Bandits, 8-1 in Brooks Wednesday and 7-3 at the Memorial Arena Friday.

Saturday in Olds the Grizzlys posted a 5-1 victory to run the current Dragons losing streak to 5 games. The club needs to string some wins together to reach the final playoff spot in the South.

January 10 was trade deadline day in the AJHL and the Dragons made two moves. Mitch Owsley was dealt to Olds for future considerations. The Dragons also acquired 19 year old winger Bryton Mills from Lloydminster for futures. Mills played his first game Friday, sporting Derek Werenka's old number 11. He brings good size (6'2, 200 pounds) to the lineup. Mills is a second year AJHL player from Stony Plain.

The Dragons also acquired defenseman Darian Henry of Strathmore from Everett of the Western League. Henry is a tall (6'4, 170 pounds) 17 year old who played last winter with the UFA Bisons AAA midgets.

trivia: Three Dragons have scored 20 or more goals twice in their careers. Who are they?      

            The answer at the bottom of the page.

             This Week in Dragon's History

             (January 15--21)

Another very busy week to look back on, starting off with a trio of Dragons reaching the 100 games played mark in January of 2005. Braden Desmet, Mitch Jaffray and Charles Allen all topped the century mark in games from January 16 through 22 in 2005.

January 16, 2006 defenceman A.J. Mikkelsen recorded his 34th assist of the season (on Dion Knelsen's 22nd goal of the season), setting a new single mark in assists, breaking the then-record of 33 set by Braden Desmet in 2004-05. Mikkelsen would go on to earn 47 assists that 2005-06 season.

Also in that game, Dion Knelsen set a new record for points by a rookie when he got an assist on Derek Werenka's 29th goal of the season in the third period to eclipse the old mark of 48 set by Matt Harms in the 2004-05 season. At the time Dion had 22 goals and 29 assists for a new record 49 points. He would go on that season to score 39 goals and 74 points in a banner rookie campaign.

January 22, 2008 #25, Trevor Smyth, rifled three goals (his 16-17-18 of the season) to help the Dragons to a 5-2 win versus Canmore. Trevor played 2 1/2 season with the Dragons, 161 games, scoring 42-67=109 in the orange and black. This was his only hat-trick as a Dragon.

Also in that game against Canmore, another all-time great Dragon set a single season record. Graham Klassen blasted home his 12th goal of the season on Travis Rolheiser to surpass the old mark of 11 goals in a season by a defenceman which was set in 2006-07 by Derek Lewis. Klassen reached the mark at 17.46 of the first period, with assists to Jamie Paulsen and Chad Hohmann.

And to complete the tri-fecta that January night in 2008, this was the Dragons 29th victory of the season, topping the old mark of 28 set back in 2005-06. One of those wonderful nights in junior hockey, at the Arena, January 22, 2008.

January 16, 2009 winger Justin Faryna reached the coveted 20-goal plateau when he beat Rob Gunderson during an 8-4 loss in Brooks. Faryna became the 12th Dragon to reach the mark.

A pair of Dragons, Colin Bergman and Lee Morrow will recall a game against Okotoks January 20, 2009. Bergman played his 100th game as a Dragon, and scored a key goal in a 3-1 win at the Arena. Morrow scored his first goal in the AJHL on Steve Papciak to help the Dragons to the win.

January 21, 2010 affiliate player Tanner Labbe got his first AJHL goal, being the only Dragon to beat Chase Martin in a 4-1 loss to the Canucks at the Max Bell. Labbe is currently playing in the AJHL with the Grand Prairie Storm. He played last season with the St. Albert Steel.

and finally: last year on January 20 at the Arena, the Calgary Canucks nipped the Dragons 4-3 in what would be Don Phelps' last game in Drumheller as head coach of the Canucks after more than two decades on the job. He retired at the end of last season.

An added bonus to that game was the attendance of former Canadian Women's hockey team member Carla Mcleod, who signed autographs and other memorabilia for the fans. Carla was a two-time Olympic gold medallist for Canada.

And a couple of Dragons also made their mark in that game. "the Train", Justin Tateson played his 100th game as a Dragon that night. #2 scored a goal to further mark the occassion. And #39, Rob Geddes, "the Little Lion", scored his 20th goal of the season, becoming the 13th Dragon to reach that mark. Unfortunately it came in a losing cause. All around, though, just a great night at the Memorial Arena, a year ago, January 20, 2011.

 trivia: 245 players have worn the Dragons jersey in their 9 year history.Three have scored 20 or more goals twice. Can you name them?

They are:

Derek Werenka ( 23 in 2003-05, 37 in 2005-06 )

Kevin Bui  ( 22 in 2006-07, 24 in 2007-08 )

Jeff Young (21 in 2005-06, 25 in 2008-09 )        

Two games for the Dragons to kick off the final two months of the regular season, both at home. Wednesday Olds was here, Friday the Calgary Canucks.

Wednesday the Olds Grizzlys thumped the Dragons 5-1 in a lackluster game to begin the 2012 portion of the AJHL season. The Dragons trailed 2-1 after one period, but could not mount enough offense in the second or third periods to effect a comeback. The lone goal was scored by Brennan Baxandall ( his 5th of the year ) on the powerplay from Brodie Jamieson and Sam Lawson....good to see #9 Sam Lawson back in the line-up. Sam missed 19 games with a knee injury. This was his first action since November 04....he got carried away late in the game and was assessed a gross misconduct, resulting in a one-game suspension which prevented him from suiting up Friday....Braden Gamble made the start against Olds, but left after two periods. Chris Wray shut the Grizzlys out in the third period....player of the game for the Dragons was Doug Jones.

Friday the Canucks were at the Memorial Arena, and once again the Dragons could not muster nearly enough offense, scoring just one goal in dropping a 3-1 decision...a better effort for the Dragons, who generated 32 shots at Michael Matyas. The Canucks 'keeper was solid, and really controlled his rebounds well, making those second and third chances hard to come by....a late powerplay goal by defenceman Davin Stener (his 1st goal of the season) broke up the shutout, but it was too little, too late for the Dragons....Chris Wray got the start and went all the way in goal. He played very well, making 31 saves, several of them of the spectacular variety. Good effort for #34, and he was rewarded by being named the player of the game for the Dragons....Sam Lawson sat out a one-game suspension. He will return Wednesday in Brooks....Mitch Owsley also returned to the line-up after missing the last two games. He played his regular shift and got time on the powerplay. Good to see #14 back on the ice. Mitch leads the Dragons with 12 goals this season....another one of those 4-point games that the Dragons failed to capitalize on. They now trail the Canucks by 6 points in the standings.... It is important to not lose contact with the group ahead of them as the Dragons battle for that final playoff spot in the AJHL South division. This week's two losses are a real set-back for the team....no easy task ahead of them next week, either. A home and home set with Brooks Wednesday (at Brooks) and Friday (at the Memorial Arena.) The final two games of the regular season between these two.

January 10 is trade deadline day in the AJHL,  so it will be interesting to see if the Dragons make any moves. They have room to bring in some players, and with their current problems scoring goals, something may be in the works....defenceman Jeffrey Noble is no longer with the team. After suffering a concussion early in the year, Noble is just now getting back on the ice. Everyone wishes Jeff a full recovery and good luck as he continues his hockey career.

trivia:  Three Dragons have scored 50 or more career goals. Do you know them?

            The answer at the bottom of the page.

This Week in Dragon's History

 (January 08-14)

Our look back this week begins January 09, 2005. On that date Kevin Hunter became the first Dragon to play 100 regular season games. Hunter reached the milestone in a 3-1 loss to the Royals at the Memorial Arena. He was held scoreless in the game.

Fans will remember the game of January 09, 2010 at the Arena for a potentially career-threatening injury suffered by rookie Kevin McMillan during a match with Canmore. Eagles captain Adam Stephen rammed K-Mac into the boards, the resulting injury ended Kevin's rookie season, but thankfully he did not sustain any lasting effects of the injury and returned to the blue-line the next season for the Dragons. K-Mac is now in his third year with the Dragons, and shares the captaincy of the club. A scary moment, though, from two years ago.

One day later, on January 10th the Dragons met Drayton Valley on a Sunday afternoon, and proceeded to fill the opposition net like never before (or since.) That afternoon the Dragons beat Drayton Valley 11-4, setting a team record which still stands for goals in a game. Evan Warner led the way offensively. "Scrap-Iron" had a goal and 4 assists. Pat Turville (with his first goal in the AJHL) and "the Toye Cannon", Marcus Toye each recorded 2-2=4. Affiliate player Dillon Houghton also scored his first AJHL goal against the Thunder, January 10, 2010.

January 10, 2011 saw a Western Hockey League trade impact the roster of the Dragons. Kootenay made a deal with Swift Current which saw the rights of Ryan Bloom go to the Broncos. They then called Bloom up to the WHL where he finished the season. Bloom was cooking along at a point-per-game pace for the Dragons when he was called up, recording 21 points in the 20 games he played as a Dragon. He finished last season in Swift Current, then came back to the Dragons in September this season.

and on January 14, 2011 newcomer Riley Spraggs scored his first AJHL goal (from Sean Sanford and Matt Brown) on Jan Obernesser in a 5-1 loss to the Bandits in Brooks. Spraggs had joined the Dragons days earlier from Revelstoke of the KIJHL. Riley started this season with the club, but was traded to Winkler December 1st at the roster deadline.

Six ex-Dragons celebrate birthdays during this week.

Derek Lewis and Lee Morrow share January 9 as their birth date. Lewis will be 26 years old, Morrow 22.

January 11 Hanna's Dru Hickle turns 18; January 12 former Dragon Spencer Copp will be 22. Spencer is currently playing in the CIS with the University of Calgary Dinos; January 13 Lethbridge native Patrick Bartoshyk will turn 22; and January 13 recently traded Keenan Martens will be 19. Keenan is currently playing with Nipawin in Saskatchewan after a December 1st deal sent him to the SJHL.

And finally, my apologies to Brody Robinson and his family. Somehow I overlooked Brody's birthday in this spot last week. #12, Brody Robinson celebrated his 19th birthday on January 2nd. Congratulations, and sorry about the omission.

trivia: Three Dragons have scored 50 or more career goals. Can you name them?

They are: Derek Werenka (65), Jeff Young (53) and Kevin Bui (51)

Rounding out the top five are:

Cam Lamoureux (45) and Trevor Smyth (42)       

2012 just about set to get underway for the Dragons and the rest of the AJHL. January is a busy month for the Dragons as they play 11 times to begin the final two months of the season.

Of the eleven games, ten are 4-pointers against South division rivals. Six of them involve the Grizzlys and Canucks. The Dragons face Olds 3 times, twice up in Olds in January. They also have 3 dates with the Canucks, two of them at the Memorial Arena. Huge games against teams in a tight battle for the final playoff spot.

The Dragons face Brooks twice, a home and home set January 11th and 13th. They also have two games with the Mustangs, both on the big ice surface at Father David Bauer Arena in Calgary.

The only non-divisional game for the Dragons in January is an encounter with St. Albert at the Memorial Arena on the 21st.

A real make-or-break month for the Dragons in January 2012!

trivia:  Joel Chisholm holds the Dragons team record       with 7 points in a game. Which former Dragon is   second with a 6 point game?  

            The answer at the bottom of the page.

This Week in Dragon's History

 (January 01--07)

This is a very busy time-frame for our look back at the history of the Drumheller Dragons. A lot of plateaus achieved, and a flurry of early January birthdays.

Our look back begins January 3, 2006. On that date against the Fort Saskatchewan Traders, # 1, Jonathan LaRose made 38 saves to record his first career AJHL shutout in a 4-0 victory at the Memorial Arena. Quite a day for JLR. He celebrated his birthday and shutout his former team the same day. Storybook stuff.

Three days later in 2006, on January 6, St. Albert native Kyle Teague, who wore #27 for 32 games as a Dragon in 2005-06, scored his first goal in the orange and black after coming over in a trade with Spruce Grove. Teague beat Jimmy Bernier of Fort McMurray during a 4-2 win at the Thickwood Heights Arena. Teague scored 4-16=20 for the Dragons in that '05-06 season.

Derek Werenka passed former Dragon Braden Desmet to become the club's all-time scoring leader January 7, 2006. #11 scored his 27th goal of the season on Kai Saimbhi during a 5-4 overtime loss at Sherwood Park. That point gave him 95 as a Dragon, eclipsing Desmet's previous mark of 94.

JLR attained yet another plateau January 4, 2007. Jonathan LaRose played his 100th game as a Dragon against Okotoks that night. Unfortunately the Oilers nipped the Dragons 4-3 in overtime to spoil the night. Derek Lewis set a goal-scoring mark for defensemen during this game. Lewis scored his 7th goal of the season to break Kaylan Wiancko's team mark of 6 set during the 2004-05 season. Lewis beat Bradley Eidsness to register a powerplay goal, from Adam Gialet and Kevin Bui in that o.t. loss.

January 7th, 2007 another Dragon reached the 100 games played mark. Kyle Hanson became the 14th Dragon to play at least 100 games during a 5-4 overtime loss against Camrose at the Memorial Arena. Hanson wore #5 on defense for the Dragons for two seasons, 2005-06, 2006-07, playing 116 games, scoring 10-32=42. The Calgary native was a rugged customer, amassing 263 penalty minutes during his time with the Dragons. He was a leader on the team, and wore the Captain's "C" during the 2006-07 season.

Yet another entry into the record books for #19, Kevin Bui. January 5, 2008 he scored his 4th shorthanded goal of the season, setting a new team record. The former mark of three had been shared by Kevin Hunter, Jeff Young and Trevor Smyth. Bui scored his 17th goal of the season from Trevor Smyth on Travis Rolheiser in a 5-2 victory over Canmore at the Memorial Arena.

On January 8, 2008 Cluny, Alberta native Ryan Corbiell scored his first AJHL goal, on Matthieu LaRochelle of Camrose. Corbiell wore #5 for the Dragons for parts of two seasons (2007-08 and 2008-09), playing 58 games, scoring 2-9=11 before a trade sent him out to the BCHL.

The Dragons defeated the Camrose Kodiaks 3-2 in Camrose on January 3, 2009. In the 349th regular season game for the franchise, the victory was #150 for the club.

Quite a list of birthdays in the early part of January.

Two former Dragons goaltenders share a January 3rd birth date: Andrew Arklie from Dugald, Manitoba and Boyle, Alberta's Jonathan LaRose. Arklie played 34 games for the Dragons in 2004-05, JLR appeared in 114 games from 2004-2007. Andrew Arklie turns 28 years old January 3rd, 2012. Jonathan LaRose celebrates number 26.

January 4th another former Dragon goaltender has a birthday. Lake Parsippany, New Jersey's Garrett Beckwith turns 22 years old.

Also on January 4th, Dion Knelsen from Three Hills has a birthday. Dion will be 23 years old.

And happy birthday to current Dragon Davin Stener on January 7th. #6 is a second year Dragon from Fort Saskatchewan. He turns 18 years old January 7.

trivia:  Joel Chisholm holds the Dragons team record       with 7 points in a game. Which former Dragon is   second with a 6 point game?

            If you knew Scott Kennedy, take a bow!! #26 had a 6 point game (2 goals, 4 assists) in a 7-5 win over the Calgary Royals during a game at the AJHL Showcase weekend on October 02, 2009.

The line of Colin Bergman, Kennedy, and Justin Morello lit up the Royals that night, combining for 5 goals and 11 assists for 16 scoring points.  

Xmas re-cap,  2011

The Christmas break is upon us, time for the Drumheller Dragons and other AJHL teams to get a few days away from the rigors of a busy schedule. Time to relax, rest up, recharge for the playoff push which begins early in 2012. 41 games in the books. 19 very important games for the Dragons remain. A busy four months pre-Christmas, two more hectic months to come.

Things got off to a great start in 2011-12, beginning in Lloydminster where the Dragons whipped the Bobcats 6-2 in the season opener. Kevin McMillan and Kenton Levesque, earlier named co-captain's for the Dragons, led the way with two goals each to lead the team to the win. James D'Andrea kicked out 30 shots to record his first victory as a Dragon.

Many Dragons recorded career first's pre-Christmas. Mitch Owsley, Trevor Tracy and Josh Peters all got their first AJHL goals September 15th; Brody Robinson got his first September 18; Gio Bombini on September 20. Local product Spencer Samuel notched his first goal October 29; Coda Engbar November 08; Josh McKissock and Tristan Reimer on November 25; Brodie Jamieson December 02; and Justin Cintas December 18. Logan Sceviour, who came over in an off-season trade with Bonnyville scored his first as a Dragon up in Lloyd in the season-opener.

Goaltender Christopher Wray got his first start September 28 in Sherwood Park. He made 31 saves to post his first AJHL victory.

The Dragons went through two long losing streaks in the 2011 portion of the season, a team-record 10-game skid from October 06 through 28, then another 7-game streak from November 05-23. Those two skids have relegated the Dragons to the basement in the AJHL South division. It's a close battle for the final playoff spot, with plenty of available points for the Dragons to move up the standings and earn a playoff berth.

The losing streaks cost head coach Dan Price his job at the end of October. Dragons management decided it was time for a change, relieving Price and his assistant coaches of their duties. New head coach and g.m. Barry Wolff took over October 31, and the club responded with a victory in his first game behind the bench, nipping the Canucks 2-1 at the Memorial Arena on November 4th.

The only constant in junior hockey is change, and there have been many since the start of the season. These players are no longer with the Dragons: James D'Andrea, Keenan Martens, Trevor Tracy, Dylan Schellenberg, Keith Csizmadia, Riley Spraggs, Graham Zagrodney, Zach Baba, Josh Peters, Marcus Cheng, Julian Fraser and Dylan Meier.

Replacing them as Dragons are: Braden Gamble and Ryan Bloom, who both came back to the Dragons from the WHL, Coda Engbar, Josh McKissock, Simon Horlick, Justin Cintas, Tye Hand and Brodie Jamieson.

All the newcomers have contributed since their arrival, but none in more spectacular fashion than Brodie Jamieson. Jamieson had THE game of any Dragon in a very long time December 22nd at the Memorial Arena. #10 led the Dragons to a 7-4 win over the Calgary Mustangs, scoring a team-record 5 goals in the game. That broke the record of 4 goals in a game set by Joey Martini, way back on October 09, 2004. Remarkable!

The Dragons franchise also reached a couple of notable milestones in the first part of the season. On October 08 versus Sherwood Park, the Dragons played their 500th regular season game in the AJHL in this their ninth season.

On October 29, the Dragons posted their 200th regular season franchise victory, downing Camrose 5-3 at the Memorial Arena.

The AJHL implemented the shoot-out format prior to the 2010-11 season, and after 5 unsuccessful shoot-outs, the Dragons got their first win by that format December 02 in Okotoks. After Braden Gamble stopped the 5th Oiler shooter, rookie Gio Bombini rifled one past Jared D'Amico to give the Dragons a 3-2 win and their first shoot-out bonus point.  Good stuff. That's a goal Gio will remember for a long time.

Josh McKissock will also remember his first goal in the AJHL. It came November 25 at the Memorial Arena, and what made it extra-special was the occassion. This was the "teddy-bear toss" game, and when McKissock scored just 2.10 into the first period, the ice surface was littered with hundreds of stuffed toys.

Braden Gamble is known for making saves, but he showed another aspect of his game during an 8-7 overtime win in Canmore just before Christmas. Braden recieved an assist on a 3rd period goal by Josh Kluck, becoming only the 4th Dragon 'tender to register a scoring point. The last was Garrett Beckwith, who earned an assist in the final game of the 2010-11 season against the Mustangs. Garrett Sheehan (with two career assists) and Jonathan LaRose are the other Dragons goalkeepers who have scored an assist in an AJHL regular season game.

Two third year Dragons reached the 100 games played plateau in the first portion of the season. Doug Jones became the 33rd Dragon to play 100 games up in Fort McMurray on October 15. Kenton Levesque became number 34 November 4th against the Canucks at the Memorial Arena. Dougie "the Jet" leads the Dragons with 28 points at the break, built on 11 goals and 17 assists. He is starting to climb the Dragons all-time scoring list, now with 27 career goals to tie former captain Trent Colberg for 16th in goals scored. His 35 career assists have him tied for 21st with Dion Knelsen and Robbie Nocera all-time. And his 62 career points is good for 18th place all-time, one better than former Dragon Erik Slemp. "the Jet" is also credited with 5 career game-winning goals, which places him in a tie for 5th all-time with Mitch Jaffray, Colin Bergman, Justin Faryna, Cam Lamoureux and Rob Geddes. If he stays healthy, expect #23 to pass several more players as he ascends the Dragons all-time career scoring charts.

"the North Star Wizard" returned to the Dragons from the WHL in October. Braden Gamble came in and has played all but a couple of games since that point. He is also moving up the all-time lists of Dragon goaltenders, having passed Steven Legatto into third place in games played, minutes played, goals allowed and goaltender wins. At his current pace, "the Wiz" could catch Garrett Sheehan in some of these categories and move into 2nd place all-time before season's end. 

After the New Year, 19 games left in the regular season for the Dragons. They will play 10 games at home, 9 on the road. Only three games will be versus North division teams, giving the Dragons 16 chances against South division opponents as they push for a playoff spot in the South. Right now the club is in a tight battle with the Canucks, Canmore, and Olds. Three of the four teams will advance to the post-season, so head-to-head match-ups will be crucial. The Dragons face these three teams a total of 8 times in 2012. Olds and the Dragons will meet 4 times (2 at each rink), the Dragons face the Canucks 3 more times (2 of them at the Memorial Arena), and they have one home date left with the Eagles.

The "post-season push" begins January 4th at the Memorial Arena. 7.30 is game time when the Olds Grizzlys come in to kick off the 2012 portion of the season.