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Road woes for Dragons

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It was a tough weekend for the Dragons trying to figure out the juggernaut that is the Brooks Bandits.
The Bandits have lost just five games, including overtime and shootouts, and they brought the fire as the Dragons faced them on the road on Friday, January 13. The Bandits outshot the Dragons 17-5 in the first period alone and went ahead 6-0. They added three more in the second and two more in the third. Ty Daneault scored unassisted with 45 seconds left, preventing a shutout, as the Bandits went on to an 11-1 win.
There wasn’t much time to regroup as the Dragons headed to Olds to take on the Grizzlys on Saturday, January 14.
Olds jumped out ahead midway through the first period, but the Dragons tied it up less than two minutes later with a goal from Dylan Glinski. Olds added one more to end the first period up 2-1.
Daneault scored his 25th of the season to tie the game in the second period, but the third was all Grizzlys as they scored two, to win 4-2.
The Dragons were in Blackfalds to take on the Bulldogs on Tuesday, January 17. The results were not available at press time.
This Friday, January 20 they are in Drayton Valley, Saturday in Grande Prairie and then Sunday in Whitecourt. On Tuesday afternoon, January 24 they are on home ice to take on the Fort McMurray Oil Barons.

Sabres win bronze at home tourney

The St. Anthony’s Sabres captured the bronze medal at their home tournament last weekend.
The Senior High Boys Sabres, coached by Riley Gaudet, hosted the 18th Annual Sabres Invitational Tournament on January 13 and 14. They invited teams from Acme, Didsbury, and Bashaw.
The Sabres opened the tournament on Friday versus Acme but fell 53-43. Nathaniel Veneracion had a strong game with 18 points.
In their next game, they played the Bashaw Grey team, who were strong, and lost 33-64.
Their results put them in the bronze medal game on Saturday morning versus a second team from Bashaw. The Sabres seemed in control and were up by 10 points in the third quarter. Bashaw whittled away at the lead and was able to tie the game with three minutes left. A solid effort on the part of the Sabres allowed them to hold on for a 52-50 victory.

Daneault on NHL radar

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Drumheller Dragon Ty Daneault keeps turning heads in hockey circles and this week was identified in the NHL Central Scouting Midterm rankings.
Before Christmas, Daneault, who has committed to Merrimack College in the NCAA for the coming season, was named to the Team Canada West Roster for the World Junior A Hockey Challenge. He played in six games and scored four goals and notched two assists in the international tournament.
This week, he was one of eight AJHL players to be identified in the NHL Rankings. The mid-season rankings feature the top 224 skaters and 32 goaltenders in North America as well as the top 130 skaters and 12 goaltenders internationally. Daneault made the cut with a 222 ranking.
There are currently 21 AJHL alumni on 2022-23 NHL team rosters. Cale Makar of the Brooks Bandits is the highest AJHL player to be selected in the draft, and was chosen fourth overall by the Colorado Avalanche in the first round of the 2017 NHL Draft. A total of 98 players have been drafted directly from the Alberta Junior Hockey League since 1980.
The 2023 NHL Draft is scheduled from June 28-29 and will be hosted by the Nashville Predators at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee.

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