Jesse Gordichuk made 32 saves and Colton Sheen scored two goals as the Olds Grizzlys defeated the Drumheller Dragons in a lopsided 6-0 victory at home on Dec. 2.
Sheen opened scoring five minutes into the first period when he found the puck on his stick in the high slot. After his initial shot was stopped by Dragons goaltender Curtis Skip, Sheen banked home the juicy rebound for his 12th goal of the season, giving the Grizzlys a 1-0 lead.
Grizzlys head coach Brett Hopfe said he wasn't satisfied with his team's play against the Lloydminster Bobcats earlier this weekend, despite getting a 5-3 win.
But an effort like the one against the Dragons should go a long way toward meeting the team's goal from the start of the season: home ice advantage for the playoffs.
“We had a big lead going into the third and we sat back and allowed them to score two goals. That's something we really pushed tonight. Once we got the lead, not to let the foot off the gas,” Hopfe said.
With the victory, the Grizzlys now have a 15-12-4 record and sit fifth in the AJHL South. They are now five points behind the Dragons in the standings.
The game also marked the debut of the team's latest addition, forward Jade McMullen, acquired this week from the Grande Prairie Storm in exchange for Dustin Gorgi, Alex Brewer and Josh Zablocki.
McMullen played on a line with Ty Mappin and Kyle Moore, scoring a goal in the first period on the powerplay — a one-timer from the left faceoff circle.
“At the beginning of the game, they were trying to feed Jade a little bit too much to get him a goal,” Hopfe said.
“Once they get some chemistry and start moving around, I think it's going to be a very scary line. With Ty (Mappin) being able to see open ice like he does and Jade being able to one-time that puck like he can, that's an offensive threat.”
McMullen, an 18-year-old from Edmonton, hasn't had a practice with the team yet. He drove to his hometown on Monday night and spent it with his family. He arrived in Olds yesterday, spent two hours getting settled with his billets and made it to the Sportsplex at about 3 p.m. before the game.
“Honestly, I don't think I'm quite used to it yet. There were still some mistakes out there I wish I could take back but that's going to come,” he said after his debut.
He added that he was excited to join the team and hopes to make a deep run in the post season.
“Their goal is to keep climbing the South and make it deep into the playoffs and that was my goal as well.”
