Dragons Fall After Nine Round Shoot-out
The Drumheller Dragons hosted the Camrose Kodiaks on Tuesday and went all the way to the 9th round of the shoot-out but could not get the win.
This was the 6th and final meeting between these two south division rivals with the Dragons winning three of the past five meetings. An important game in the standings as well as Camrose was only 5 points behind Drumheller with a game in hand.
The first period opened with the majority of the battles happening in neutral ice but neither team taking control of the game. Drumheller out shot Camrose 10-7 in the period and had three power play opportunities but could not score.
In the second, the Dragons opened up the scoring when Nate Keeley scored his 4th of the year from Brett Wieschorster and Carson Kurylo midway through the period at 9:41. The Kodiaks tied it four minutes later when McKenzie Welke scored from Ryan McKinnon and Carson Welke. Then with just over three minutes left in the period, Camrose took the lead. Colson Gengenbach scored from Matt Dykstra and Jacob Kendall. Camrose lead 2-1 after two and out shot Drumheller 10-8 in the period.
The Dragons tied the game in the third. Affiliate player, Ryan McBeath, scored his first AJHL goal at 2:47 unassisted to tie the game at two. Referee Tyler Jensen put away his whistle for the remainder of the period and let the two teams determine the outcome of the game. The game remained tied through overtime and went to the shoot-out.
An interesting move by the Camrose Kodiaks was they switched goaltenders for the shoot-out. Luke Lush started the game and helped his team get to the shoot-out but head coach Boris Rybalka changed him for Griffin Bowerman. The Dragons shot first and neither team could score until the 4th shooter. Drumheller's Bradley Stonnell scored so that left Colby Walter from Camrose needing to score to keep the shoot out going. He scored so we continued until the 9th round. Nic Correale potted the shoot-out winner to give the extra point and the win to the Kodiaks.
Shots on goal
Camrose – 26
Drumheller – 30
Power Play
Camrose 0/3
Drumheller 0/4
Viterra Game Stars
Camrose – Nic Correale
Drumheller – Brett Edwards
The Dragons head out on the road this weekend. They start in Olds on Friday night to battle the Grizzlys. They then travel to Okotoks to face the Oilers on Saturday. Both games start at 7:00p.m. with the Western GM Pregame Show at 6:45p.m. on the home of the Drumheller Dragons, 99.5 DrumFM.
Jason Blanke
Morning Show Host – 99.5 DRUM FM
Office: 403.823.9936
www.DrumhellerOnline.com