The Drumheller Dragons were back on the road on Monday to face the Calgary Canucks and dropped the contest in a shootout 4-3.
The Dragons had a much better start than their previous two road games when former affiliate player Joren Patenaude opened the scoring on the power play to take the 1-0 lead early on. The Dragons played a solid first period, especially in the defensive zone.
The game took a turn in the second period as the Canucks took control of the pace and caught the Dragons on their heels. The Canucks scored three, and veteran Dragon Evan Rochowiak added one in the second period. At the end of two periods the Canucks lead 3-2, despite a strong performance from Dragons goaltender Dane Dow.
Third period action saw the Canucks come out strong but the Dragons responded and both teams traded momentum throughout the period. The Dragons finally took advantage of their momentum and Evan Tschumi tied the game at 3.
Overtime saw the Dragons get a power play and they had multiple opportunities to put the game away. However, they were unable to take advantage and the overtime period expired, sending the two teams into a shootout.
The Dragons took the lead in the second round of the shootout on a goal by Jordan Taupert. The Canucks responded in the third round on a goal from Mark Drohan, then took the win in the fourth round on a goal by Matthew Painchaud as the Dragons could not beat goaltender Logan Drackett.
“I thought we played a very solid first period and were strong in our zone which was a positive,” said Dragons head coach Brian Curran. “In the second period we got away from our game and several of our players tried too hard to do everything on their own. It wasn’t from a lack of effort but was the reason the Canucks were better than us in the second [period].” Curran continued, “It was a back and forth third period where the Canucks came out strong but I thought we battled back hard and in the last several minutes played our game. It’s good to see we are not giving up but continued to put the pressure on. We still have lots of work to do but we are growing.”
The Dragons next game and Home Opener is Friday, September 23 at the Drumheller Memorial Arena. The pucks drops at 7:30pm, and there will be a tailgate party at the BCF from 5:00pm-7:00pm beforehand.
Photo by Broken Curfew Photography