Next up: Here be Dragons

The Canmore Eagles and Drumheller Dragons are set to meet again in the Alberta Junior Hockey League playoffs.

On Friday, April 3, Canmore will host Drumheller for the first game of the South Division final. At stake is a place in the championship series against either the Whitecourt Wolverines or Grande Prairie Storm, who will battle for the North Division playoff title.

Canmore, the No. 1 seed in the South, defeated the Calgary Canucks 4-2 in a best-of-seven South semifinal series.

Drumheller, the No. 2 seed in the South, posted a 2-1 overtime victory over the Camrose Kodiaks in Game 7 on Tuesday (March 31). Bradley Gallo scored the game winner 1:18 into the extra period as the Dragons overturned a 3-1 series deficit. The Kodiaks forced overtime with a power-play goal by Junshi Hideshima with 30 seconds left in regulation time.

In the North, No. 1 Whitecourt eliminated the Fort McMurray Oil Barons in five games, while No. 2 Grande Prairie swept the Lloydminster Bobcats.

The winners of the upcoming playoff matchups will meet for the league title and a trip to the Centennial Cup in May to play for a national championship.

Canmore and Drumheller have met seven times in the AJHL playoffs but a spot in the league championship series has never been the reward.

The Dragons have been to the league final once, in 2014 – losing in four games to the Spruce Grove Saints – while the Eagles are seeking their first trip to the title-deciding series.

This is only the third time the Eagles have been in a South final or a league semifinal series: losing to Whitecourt in seven games in the 2023-24 season when the league constricted to one division to finish up its complicated season when five teams jumped to the BCHL; losing in five games to the Camrose Kodiaks in 2003; and losing in seven games to Grande Prairie in 2002 when the divisions crossed over in the semifinal round.

The Dragons reached the division final or league semifinal in each of the past two seasons, losing to the eventual AJHL champion Canucks both times.

The Dragons lead the all-time playoff series with Canmore 4-3, including last year’s dramatic seven-game set.

Game 1 – Drumheller at Canmore, Friday, April 3 (Canmore Recreation Centre, 7 p.m.)

Game 2 – Drumheller at Canmore, Saturday, April 4 (Canmore Recreation Centre, 7 p.m.)

Game 3 – Canmore at Drumheller, Tuesday, April 7 (Drumheller Memorial Arena, 7 p.m.)

Game 4 – Canmore at Drumheller, Wednesday, April 8 (Drumheller Memorial Arena, 7 p.m.)

(if necessary)

Game 5 – Drumheller at Canmore, Friday, April 10 (Canmore Recreation Centre, 7 p.m.)

Game 6 – Canmore at Calgary, Sunday, April 12 (Drumheller Memorial Arena, 2:00 p.m.)

Game 7 – Calgary at Canmore, Tuesday, April 14 (Canmore Recreation Centre, 7 p.m.)

Top Scorers: Canmore – Lutic 4G-5A—9Pts, Insinger 3G-4A—7Pts, Easton Milne 2G-4A—6Pts, Ryder Dembo 2G-3A—5Pts, Tkachuk 2G-3A—5Pts; Drumheller – Johnstone 5G-2A—7Pts, Gallo 2G-5A—7Pts, Goudreau 2G-2A—4Pts, Marsh 1G-3A—4Pts, Several tied at 3Pts.

Goaltending: Canmore – Scheiwiller 4-1, 2.94, .914, 1 shutout, Sedo 0-1, 2.23, .913; Drumheller – Cootes 4-3, 2.37, .933, 1 shutout, Williams 0-0, 3.16, .901.

Penalty Minutes: Canmore 91 (power play – 16.7% 4 goals, penalty killing – 63.6% 8 goals allowed); Drumheller 115 (power play – 18.5% 5 goals, penalty killing – 76% 6 goals allowed).

Playoff history: Drumheller def. Canmore 4-3 in 2025; Drumheller def. Canmore 4-2 in 2023; Canmore def. Drumheller 4-1 in 2019; Canmore def. Drumheller 3-1 in 2016; Drumheller def. Canmore 4-1 in 2014; Drumheller def. Canmore 3-0 in 2013, Canmore def. Drumheller 3-2 in 2006.

The series in 2016, 2013 and 2006 were best-of-five, first-round sets, with 2006 of special note as the Eagles rallied back from a 2-0 deficit.

Records: Canmore 32-19-3-1, 68 points, 1st in the South; Drumheller 28-20-2-5, 63 points, 2nd in the South. Home – Canmore 19-7-2-0, Drumheller 16-9-0-3. Away – Canmore 13-12-1-1, Drumheller 12-11-2-2.

Goals for: Canmore 209 (Cohen Daoust 31, Aidan Tkachuk 29, John Szabo 23); Drumheller 189 (Gallo 30, Jensen Marsh 14, Jacob Goudreau 13).

Goals Against: Canmore 170 (Alex Scheiwiller 22-12-2-1, 2.91, .921, Hudson Sedo 10-7-1-2, 3.14, .905); Drumheller 180 (Sean Cootes 17-12-0-3, 2.91, .903, Brandon Williams 11-6-2-2-, 2.96, .897).

Penalty Minutes: Canmore 1,066 (power play – 24.8% 63 goals, penalty killing – 77.9% 47 goals allowed); Drumheller 916 (power play – 22.1% 53 goals, penalty killing – 77.5% 54 goals allowed).

Top Scorers: Canmore – Daoust 31G-44A—75Pts, Tkachuk 29G-41A—70Pts, Szabo 23G-31A—54Pts, Will Lutic 15G-33A—48Pts, Hudson Landmark 11G-28A—39Pts; Drumheller – Gallo 30G-37A—67Pts, Tristan Payne 11G-28A—39Pts, Sullivan Humeniuk 6G-29A—35Pts, Jase Johnstone 11G-22A—33Pts, Lauchlan Kozicky 10G-22A—32Pts.

Power-Play Points: Canmore – Daoust 10G-18A—28Pts, Szabo 10G-18A—28Pts, Tkachuk 13G-14A-27Pts, Lutic 5G-12A—17Pts, Landmark 4G-10A—14Pts; Drumheller – Gallo 5G-10A—15Pts, Humeniuk 3G-10A—13Pts, Payne 4G-8A—12Pts, Johnstone 3G-9A—12Pts, Allen Sherpa 1G-10A—11Pts.

Drumheller defeated Canmore in four of six regular-season encounters.

Sept. 19: Eagles 3 at Dragons 5 – The opening game of the regular season for both these teams saw Gallo score three third-period goals after setting up the first two goals for Drumheller.

Oct. 14: Dragons 2 at Eagles 5 –Daoust scored two third-period goals and Landmark had three assists as the Eagles scored three times in the final eight minutes.

Dec. 20: Dragons 2 at Eagles 5 – Daoust’s one goal and two assists performance made for a joyous holiday break for Canmore.

Jan. 9: Eagles 2 at Dragons 3 – Johnstone scored the game winner in the final second of the third period as Drumheller rallied back from a 2-0 deficit with three third-period goals.

March 7: Eagles 2 at Dragons 5 – Gallo and Payne each had one goal and two assists as Drumheller jumped out to a 4-0 lead thanks to three power-play goals.

March 10: Dragons 2 at Eagles 1 (OT) – Payne scored 1:28 into the extra period to give Drumheller the victory. Daoust tied the game with 38 seconds left in regulation time when Cootes came out to try and score into an empty net at the other end of the ice and instead fired the puck onto Daoust’s stick.

Power Plays: Canmore 17.1% (6 goals); Drumheller 18.7% (6 goals).

OVERTIME: Easton Milne was named to the AJHL South Division All-Rookie Team on Wednesday (April 1). The 2008-born Eagles forward recorded 22 points (10G-12A) in 51 games this past season. … Playoff tickets are on sale on the Canmore Eagles website. canmoreeagles.ca/tickets. … You can also follow the Canmore Eagles at home and on the road throughout the playoffs with your local broadcast team – Russ Ullyot (play-by-play) and Zach Ahmin (colour analyst) – at flohockey.tv. … The Eagles are in need of volunteers to help with game day experiences, email info@canmoreeagles.com for more information on opportunities and perks that come with being part of the Game Day Crew.