Oil Kings work OT to end streak

Juniors lost 16 straight before win over Calgary

Tyler Robertson thought he gave the Edmonton Oil Kings the lead in the first period but the officials had other ideas, but the 20-year-old wouldn’t be denied when it mattered most against the Calgary Hitmen Sunday afternoon at Rogers Place.

The veteran forward played the role of overtime hero scoring his first goal in seven games at the 1:12 mark of OT to beat Calgary 3-2 to snap their 16game losing skid.

“It’s huge. Those 16 games can feel so long, and to finally have it over. It’s a lot of fun,” said Robertson.

“I’ve been struggling a little bit to get the puck in the net, but that goal couldn’t have come at a better time.”

Trey Fix-Wolansky and Davis Koch also scored for Edmonton, while Beck Malenstyn and Jake Bean replied for the Hitmen.

Edmonton looked like a team on a mission to end its franchise-tying record 16 games, set previously in the 2009-10 season.

Fix-Wolansky took a feed out of his own zone from Conner McDonald and went coast to coast, finishing off with a nice move around Bean and beat Hitmen netminder Trevor Martin with a hard snap shot over the shoulder to give Edmonton a 1-0 lead just 2:50 into the contest.

Just 3:12 later, Koch scored his team-leading second shorthanded goal of the season when he picked off a cross-ice pass and went in on a odd-man break. Koch was tracked down by the Hitmen defender, but Ty Gerla was able to recover the puck and send a perfect pass to Koch, who ripped home his team-leading 16th goal of the year.

Just when it looked like the Oil Kings may coast to a win, think again.

The momentum shifted in a hurry and if Edmonton was going to end their long losing skid, it would have to work extra hard for it.

Malenstyn’s goal at the 13:37 mark was ruled a good goal after he crashed into Patrick Dea’s crease, and the puck crossed the line, but the net was also off. After a lengthy review, Edmonton’s lead was cut in half.

Bean tied the game on a power play just 1:57 later.

The Oil Kings thought they regained the lead courtesy of Robertson before the first period ended, but it was ruled no goal.

“We battled hard the whole night,” said Koch.

“There was some adversity, but we just kept pushing. Our PK was great tonight. We had some huge kills and we battled. It was nice it finally paid off for us.”

The Oil Kings faced even more adversity in the second. Already without the services of their top D-pairing of Will Warm (suspension) and Brayden Gorda (injury), their blueline took another hit as Wyatt McLeod left the game in the second period and didn’t return after taking a nasty hit.

That put 15-year-old Matthew Robertson, the younger brother of Tyler, under more pressure, and he along with the rest of the inexperienced Oil Kings blueline came through big.

“That’s a lot to ask of these kids, but they didn’t shy away from the challenge,” said Oil Kings head coach Steve Hamilton.