Over 450 hockey fans made their way to the Drumheller Memorial Arena Tuesday night to watch the Dragons first at-home exhibition game of the 2015-2016 season. 

The Dragons hosted the Lloydminster Bobcats and took a 3-1 win over the visiting team. 

“I really enjoyed our first period, I thought our guys were flying. We moved the puck really well. It is just that second period we stopped moving our feet, especially in the defensive zone, they held more time in our zone,” Dragons Head Coach and General Manager Brian Curran said.

He told inSide Drumheller this was a technique the team had been working on in practice and he feels there was a miscommunication between the coaching staff and players. 

“It was something we were working on in practice the other day and they literally took it one way. When we don’t have the puck, If you watch, they were trying not to get picked, they were keeping to one side, but at some point we’ve got to pin somebody. We can’t let them skate around all night long,” he said. 

“We are going to go over that. I think they were a little confused in practice. I didn’t mind what they were doing, just nobody hit anybody, it was just watching them circle around and around. If you look at the chances they got from some of the shifts, they didn’t get much, but they just controlled it so much that they were chasing their tail all night long in that second period. A little miscommunication between us (coaches) and players so we will get that sorted out,” he said. “The third period I liked a lot. We never quit.”

There was no scoring in the first period, and it was the Bobcats’ Troy VanTeter that opened scoring in the second. Mere seconds later, the Dragons’ Clint Flibrandt scored the home team’s first goal. 

The game broke for the second intermission and the third period was a success for the Dragons who scored two more goals, the first by Dalton Angelvedt and the second by Chayden Lauber. 

Over the weekend the Dragons had traveled to Okotoks for a mini exhibition tournament. Thursday afternoon the Dragons took on the Brooks Bandits and took an 11-1 loss. 

Friday afternoon the Dragons faced the host team the Okotoks Oilers and took a 5-3 win. Saturday afternoon the Dragons took on the Calgary Mustangs and went home with a 4-3 win leaving the three game pre-season tournament with two wins and one loss. 

“We got destroyed by Brooks. Brooks is a good team, they are always going to be a good team, but when you take a look at that whole weekend, I was very proud of our guys the way they came back after getting hammered by Brooks. I am getting pretty sick and tired of people (looking) at the killing that Brooks put on us. Well how about the fact that a team gets beat that bad and comes back and wins the next two games, and against two tough opponents too,” Curran said. 

“What happened, we sucked. We were all horrible. We didn’t play well, we didn’t coach well, we didn’t do anything well. We are all responsible for that loss but it is that resilience to come back. In the second game it was a little bit better, in the third game it was much better and tonight (Tuesday) was much better. You have to give credit when credit is due,” he explained. 

“The funny thing about the tournament was that the first game we get killed, Okotoks beats the (Calgary) Mustangs 4-1 and then the next night the Mustangs go out and they beat Brooks 6-5, and then we beat Okotoks (5-3). Then the next day we beat the Mustangs (4-3) and then Okotoks loses 1-0 to Brooks,” he said. 

The Dragons traveled to Lloydminster to face the Bobcats in the second of the back-to-back exhibition series on Wednesday night and took a 6-2 loss.

They will now host the Okotoks Oilers Monday, September 7 at 7 p.m. in their last exhibition game before their home opener on September 11 against the Calgary Canucks. 

Prior to the 7:30 p.m. start, there will be a family friendly tailgate party in the Badlands Community Facility parking lot from 5-7 p.m. 

    Music fans that want to see the truss bridge in East Coulee restored can get ready to Boogie this weekend.
     The first annual Badland’s Boogie is set to go this Labour Day long weekend and has a full slate of musicians, bands and comedians to keep everyone entertained. The festival, organized by John Barry Graham, and it is a benefit to support saving the Truss Bridge in East Coulee.
    Earlier this year the National Trust for Canada identified the East Coulee Truss Bridge on its top 10 list of endangered places. According to its website, “The bridge has an important historical connection to Atlas No. 3 Coal Mine National Historic Site (the last in the Drumheller/Red Deer River valley). It provided the essential transportation link to the main rail lines across the Red Deer River. From the dual CPR/CNR branch line near the town of East Coulee, the bridge enabled trains to cross the river and service both the Monarch and the Atlas coal mines.”
    Graham has organized the concert to get the ball rolling on taking care of the bridge. He said right now it is very preliminary and the funds will be held in trust by Hemming and Associates in Strathmore and used as seed money for whatever the project develops into.
    He explains that years ago he worked on preserving the East Coulee School Museum, and at that time they had no funds, and much of the project was bank rolled privately.
    “We had no nest egg. So with this we’ll have a nest egg, and then we’ll get together as a committee and decide if we are going to set up a society, or if we are going to work under the Dinosaur Valley Heritage Society or the Atlas Coal Mine Society. We’re not sure, but the money will be held in trust.”
    All of the funds from the gate, as well as the sale of the limited edition poster will go directly to the trust.
    The responsibility for maintaining the bridge, according to the National Trust For Canada lies with CP and CN Rail.  Graham says they have been in touch with CP, and he says CP is receptive. The next step he said is to approach to Alberta Transportation to get a walkway on the East Coulee Bridge.
  They also have letters of support from MLA Rick Strankman and Premier Rachel Notley showing support for the event.
  The weekend provides an entertaining slate of performers including Canadian country singer Sean Hogan, blues legend Harpdog Brown and English blues singer Little Victor, to name a few. The genres range from old time country to heavy metal. They also have a slate of comedians performing as well.
    The site east of the Atlas Coal Mine will be rocking from Friday night until Sunday afternoon. In the spirit of the event, many suppliers are donating their time and services, including the Calgary Stampede, which has donated the use of its 53- foot-fully contained mobile stage with two volunteer techs.
    There are limited tickets to the event, and they can be purchased by going to www.eventbrite.ca or from Drum FM.