Drumheller, AB: The Dragons fought hard to the end, but came up short in their AJHL Semi-Finals series with the Calgary Canucks.
After dropping the first two games on the road, with the second game having some controversy after the Dragons appeared to score the overtime winning goal, the team won Game 3 in exciting fashion by a score of 6-3 in front of a massive crowd at the Memorial Arena. The Dragons then dropped Game 4 before ultimately getting beat out in Game 5 after the Canucks scored a late 3rd period goal to edge out the Dragons and end their playoff run.
Some notable playoff performers for the Dragons included Holden Cardinal, Coy Pighin, Sean Cootes, Ryan Henderson, and Jamie Hikida. Cardinal, who led the Dragons in playoff scoring, put up 5 goals and 10 points in 9 games played for the team. He was a consistent performer all playoffs long and played well alongside Coy Pighin and Jacob Goudreau. Pighin had 9 points in 9 games played, including the overtime winning goal against the Bonnyville Pontiacs that sent the Dragons to the semi-finals. Ryan Henderson was a force on the Dragons blueline all season long, and produced 5 points during the playoffs while playing big-time minutes against opposing team’s top lines. Jamie Hikida had his coming out party during playoffs, being a thorn in the side of opposing players and scoring timely goals for the Dragons. He had 4 goals in 8 games played during the playoffs. Lastly, Sean Cootes was once again outstanding for the Dragons as he posted a .913 save percentage and a 2.97 goals against average during the post-season, making incredible saves in every game that always gave the Dragons an opportunity to win.
The Drumheller Dragons organization would like to thank all their fans, season ticket holders, sponsors, billets, staff, and volunteers for making this a season to remember despite all the changes in the league. It was far from an easy season, but the community of Drumheller supported us through it all! We are excited to get back on the ice for the 2024-25 season with expectations higher than ever before!