An up and down weekend for your Drumheller Dragons.
The Dragons kicked off their 2024-2025 season on the road on Friday night in Olds against the Grizzlys. It looked to be a contentious affair to start things off. The Grizzlys would open the scoring 11:10 into the first period with a powerplay marker by Mitch Patrick. The Dragons would even the score with 4:57 left in the first with their own powerplay goal by Bradley Gallo, from Hudson Gainer and Avery Johnson. Olds would regain the lead, only 30 seconds later, with Quinn Metzger scoring, making it 2-1 Grizzlys. Drumheller would again tie the game, only 46 seconds later, with Devon Winder scoring his first of the year, from Luca Dufour and Aiden Connell. Then, only 46 seconds after that, Bradley Gallo would get in behind the Grizzlys defense and score his second of the game to give Drumheller the 3-2 lead after on period.
In the second, the Grizzlys Mitch Patrick would score his second of the game on the powerplay, at 5:28, to tie the game 3-3. Just over a minute later, Aiden Connell of the Dragons would regain the lead at 6:52, assisted by Luca Dufour and Devon Winder. Then with just over five minutes left in the second, Dragons captain Tate Yule would drop the gloves with Justin Vandermeer. It would be a good tilt and would give Drumheller the momentum. While killing the instigator penalty assessed to Yule, the Dragons Nathan Hawkins would score, assisted by Ellis Mieyette and Ryan Seeley, giving the Dragons the 5-3 lead going into the third period.
Luca Dufour of the Dragons would add to the lead at 6:52 with a powerplay goal, assisted by Easton Daneault and Josh Diegel. The Dragons would make it 7-3 with 5:40 left on a goal by Josh Diegel, from Ellis Mieyette and Easton Daneault. Then, only 10 seconds later, Bradley Gallo would score his hat-trick goal for the Dragons, from Will McLaughlin and Ayden Peters, making it 8-3. The Grizzlys would score one more with 1:20 left in the game on a goal by Esteban Labelle. The Dragons would add one more, only 11 seconds later, by Josh Diegel, his second of the game, from Ellis Mieyette and Easton Daneault.
Shots on goal
Olds – 36
Drumheller – 33
Powerplays
Olds – 2/5
Drumheller – 2/5 and one short-handed goal
3 Stars
- Bradley Gallo DRU (3 goals)
- Easton Daneault DRU (4 assists)
- Ellis Mieyette DRU (4 assists)
Saturday, the Grizzlys would look for their revenge in Drumheller as the Dragons would have their home opener.
The Dragons would dominate play in the first period but despite a number of opportunities, would only score one goal at 13:53 as Ellis Mieyette would score his first of the season, from Will McLaughlin and Josh Diegel.
The Grizzlys would get on the board midway through the second period with Braeden Veldhuizen scoring his first of the year at 9:40, tying the score 1-1. The Dragons would regain the lead with a powerplay goal by Josh Diegel, his third of the year, from Spencer Claerhout and Ayden Peters at 11:46.
In the third, the Grizzlys would tie the game at 7:16 with Mitch Patrick scoring his third goal in two games. Then with 6:46 remaining, Jonathan Doucette of the Grizzlys would score. The Dragons would pull goaltender Sean Cootes with just over a minute left but could not score the equalizer, giving Olds the 3-2 victory.
Shots on goal
Olds – 25
Drumheller – 32
Powerplays
Olds – 1/3
Drumheller – 1/4
Game Stars
Olds- Jonathan Doucette (GWG)
Drumheller – Josh Diegel (1 goal, 1 assist)
The Dragons are off for the remainder of the week until Friday night when they host the Lloydminster Bobcats. Game time at the Memorial Arena is at 7 PM.
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