Dragons Break Through with 13-6 Win at Oxford

The London Dragons picked up their first win of the 2025-26 Checking 1 South season with a 13-6 road victory over the Oxford University Blues on 8 November at Oxford Ice Rink.

We took control early and never really let go. Oxford briefly made things difficult at different points, but we answered throughout and carried the game from the opening period. Artem Meshcherin scored the game-winning goal and was named MVP for the Dragons. Oxford’s MVP was Taron Topham.

The game started at a high pace and we opened the scoring while shorthanded. At 4:49, Aleksandr Zaborskikh struck for our first of the night after we had been assessed back-to-back penalties. Nikita Piazenko doubled the lead at 6:05, and we kept pushing. Artem Meshcherin made it 3-0 at 12:24 from Piazenko before Oxford got one back shorthanded through Raffaele Frueh at 13:45. We restored the three-goal cushion at 15:31 when Piazenko scored his second of the period, assisted by Meshcherin, to send us into the break with a 4-1 lead.

We broke the game open in the second. Meshcherin scored at 21:06 from Patrick Chapman, Bradley Tuomi added another 34 seconds later from John Cookson, and Meshcherin struck again at 22:24 from Zaborskikh to put us firmly in control at 7-1. Oxford responded through Andrew Godfrey at 28:36, but we answered again through Piazenko at 35:14, with Meshcherin and Zaborskikh on the assists. Oxford scored shorthanded late in the period through Michael Furlan at 37:26, but we still carried an 8-3 lead into the third.

The third period followed the same pattern. Tuomi scored on the power play at 41:45 from Piazenko and Meshcherin after an Oxford interference penalty. Oxford got two back through Frueh and Ciaran Davies at 42:47 and 43:45, but again we responded immediately. Zaborskikh scored at 45:20, added another at 49:51, and then completed another power-play finish at 51:35 to take his tally to four on the night. Meshcherin added our 13th at 54:28 from Cookson before Davies scored Oxford’s sixth at 56:14.

There was a lot to like in this one. We had nine different scoring plays involving our top contributors and spread offence throughout the lineup. Meshcherin finished with four goals and three assists. Zaborskikh scored four, including the opening shorthanded goal and a power-play goal in the third. Piazenko had a major night with three goals and two assists. Tuomi scored twice, and Cookson finished with two assists. Chapman, Azevedo, and others continued to drive play across the game.

The overall numbers reflected how clinical we were. Oxford edged shots 52-51, but we finished far more efficiently, converting at 25 percent compared to Oxford’s 12 percent. We also stayed more disciplined, finishing with 12 penalty minutes to Oxford’s 20.

This was an important response and an important result. After the narrow loss at Cambridge in the opener, we came into Oxford and put together a strong offensive performance, found goals throughout the lineup, and played with far more control across the full sixty minutes. It was our first win of the season, and a convincing one.

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