Dragon's Weekend Update

[bigAL 2,176]

This weekend, our D.C. Dragons played six games. Surprising simultaneously everyone and no one, the Dragons went six-for-six in weekend games. Check out bigAL’s Quick Hits for all six games below:

 

Game 253: D.C. Dragons (W) at Chicago Phoenix

 

• Final Score: Dragons 6 | Chicago 2 

• This game came down to goaltending. The shots were pretty well even (30 to 29 for D.C.), but poor J-P Camus was absolutely shelled in the almost-two periods he played before getting pulled. Five of the Dragon’s six goals were let in by Camus.

• That D.C. second line of Groovy Dood - Xavier Laflammant - Benny Graves has fully rebounded from that mini-slump that plagued them last week. The trio put together three goals - enough to beat the Phoenix by themselves.

• S73 MVP candidate Benny Graves is playing with a chip on his shoulder. In addition to scoring 3 points, the skilled forward accepted Lee Xin’s invitation to fight at the end of a blowout game. To add insult to injury, Xin lost the fight nearly as badly as the Phoneix lost the game.

 

Game 264: London United at D.C. Dragons (W)

 

• Final Score: London 2 | Dragons 3

• We’ll call this game the Guy Lesieur Show. He single-handedly decided D.C. wasn’t losing this game.

• Guy snuck a powerplay marker into the London net with seconds left in the first period. The United followed that up with two unanswered goals in the second period, and took a 2-1 lead into the third.

• About halfway through the period, Lesieur decided he had enough of trailing. He scored two goals in 21 seconds to erase the deficit and carry the Dragons to their second win of the weekend.

 

Game 271: D.C. Dragons (W) at Los Angeles Stars

 

• Final Score: Dragons 3 | Stars 2

• Finally, a close game. The Dragons snatched victory from the jaws of defeat and needed a shootout to earn them the extra point in the standings.

• The Stars came out guns a-blazing with Gary Neal potting the first two goals of the game. Neal’s second goal came halfway through the third period.

• With the game looking locked up, the Stars eased up at the end of the third. That proved to be a fatal mistake.

• Inside the last three minutes, both Lance Flowers and Benny Graves scored to tie the game.

• Seeing offensive production from the big-name free agent signing Flowers is another positive note in this noteworthy weekend.

• Xavier Laflammant scored the only goal of the shootout to give the Dragons their third W on the weekend.

 

Game 279: Moscow Menace at D.C. Dragons (W)

 

• Final Score: Moscow 1 | Dragons 3

• Finally, the Dragons stop beating up on expansion teams and pick on someone their own size.

• Despite Moscow’s best efforts, this game was settled by the end of the first period. Xavier Laflammant scored both the game winner in the first period and an insurance marker in the second.

• The Menace gave Stone Cold Wolski a run for his money though, launching 32 missiles at the masked man. Clearly Moscow didn’t want to lose, but fuck ‘em, too bad.

 

Game 286: D.C. Dragons (W) at Los Angeles Stars

 

• Final Score: Dragons 4 | Stars 2

• This game was a chance at revenge for the Stars, but alas, they just couldn’t quite pull it off.

• Going into the third period, the Dragons were up 3-0 thanks to a first period goal by Liam Flaten and a pair of second period goals by the Groovy Dood.

• Something switched in the third period. Stars MVP Gary Neal scored a shortie while teammate Marcus Nygren watched from the sin bin. Ryo Yamakuzi followed the goal up six minutes later and brought the stars within one.

• The Stars pulled Doug Dimmadome late in the third, but it wasn’t enough. Boris the Forest, struggling this season, added a much needed goal with an empty netter to seal the win for the Dragons.

 

Game 294: Calgary Wranglers at D.C. Dragons (W)

 

• Final Score: Wranglers 3 | Dragons 4

• Another real test against a contender, the Dragons held their own in this wild shootout with Calgary.

• The real action happened in the second period, as the two teams took turns scoring three goals each. Every time the Dragons took a lead, the Wranglers quickly undid it. The wild back and forth meant the second period ended tied at 3.

• The always-excellent Xavier Laflammant scored yet another weekend game winning goal in the third period to ice this game at 4-3.

 

Weekends are supposed to be for resting, but our D.C. Dragons did nothing of the sort. To win the Cup, you have to take advantage of easy games and not leave any points on the table. In a six game weekend, with four games against struggling expansion teams, the Dragons sent a strong message to the league that they are interested in competing this year.

 

The tests continue this week, as they face Helsinki twice, Vancouver, and a rematch with Calgary. In between these heavyweight matchups are games against the New York Americans, Toronto Legion, London United, and the Warsaw Predators.