Jason Stross made 23 saves, and Kevin Kranker continued to have a hot hand for the Dragons, scoring yet again as the team tied state-ranked Birmingham Unified 1-1 on Sunday.
Lake Orion, the visitors, held a 1-0 lead late in the third period, when Birmingham captain Alex Solomon beat Stross to send things into overtime.
There, the Dragons had a two-man advantage, but couldn’t capitalize, instead settling for a tie with the eighth-ranked hosts.
The Dragons are now 14-3-2 on the year with Walled Lake Northern up next on Thursday at the Detroit Skating Club.
Earlier last week, Lake Orion topped Bloomfield Unified 5-3 and Troy 8-0 in a pair of road contests (though Bloomfield also skates at the DSC).
The big victory over Troy was what had the Dragons buzzing most.
After skating to a 6-all tie before the holiday break and with just a one point differential in the standings, there wasn’t much separating the two teams as they headed into their second meeting of the year last Wednesday night at the Troy Sports Center.
But that changed in a hurry.
The Dragons scored two goals in the first period and added six in the second to mercy the host Colts and gain the upper hand in the race for the OAA II crown.
It was Troy’s first loss in league action, dropping them three points behind the Dragons.
‘We played well, but I thought we caught them on a bad night,? Lake Orion Coach Pat Cherry said. ‘They’re a much better team than what they showed.?
Ken Klooster scored twice in the second and three Dragons tallied at least three points on the night (Kranker, David Wurst and Mike Rinke) to lead the balanced offensive attack.
Stross made 10 saves in net for the shutout, as a running clock started with about three minutes left in the second period.
Troy had no answer for the Dragon offense, pulling top goaltender Colin Brosteen with six minutes to go in the second period.
With the eight goal lead through two periods, the puck did not need to be dropped for a third stanza.
‘It’s just a lot of emotions,? Cherry said, trying to pinpoint the reason behind the LO scoring barrage.
‘That was one of the best games we played all year,? he added.
Cherry said that even now with the lead in the league, and play finished play against the other title contenders, the team cannot let up.
Assistant Coach Mike Wahoski said they will use last year’s late-season loss against Avondale as an example of what can happen if you do.
‘We still have a long way to go,? Cherry said. ‘There’s a quarter of the season left.?