By Craig Ellingson /
Thirteen is anything but unlucky for the Okotoks Oilers.
The AJHL South club’s winning streak ended at that number in Brooks Dec. 22 with a 5-2 loss to the Bandits. But the remarkable run helped the Oilers put a firm grasp on second place in the division at the Christmas break, five points up on third-place Drumheller and just seven back of South-leading Camrose.
The winning streak ran more than a month — from Nov. 17, a 4-1 win at home over the Calgary Canucks, to a 3-0 victory Dec. 21 over the Bandits in the first of a home-and-home before breaking for the holidays.
“That’s what happens when you get on a roll — it just falls into place for you sometimes. That’s what happened to us,” Oilers coach Dan McDonald said just prior to a two-game road trip following the holiday break. “We won some games in overtime, we came back from sometimes three goals and end up winning the game.
“It’s a funny thing, those streaks. Sometimes it falls into place and that’s what it did for us.”
And in order for the Oilers to keep pace with Camrose, McDonald says his club has to create those breaks to win games.
“We have to play like that and get those streaks in order to stay even with Camrose because they seem to be on a year-long streak,” he said.
“In order for us to stay even, we have to play really well. It was good for us, it keeps us in the hunt, which is what we’re basically trying to do.”
One key part of the winning run McDonald identified was strong goaltending — both starting goalie Bradley Eidsness and back-up Braely Torris saw their share of 30-plus shot nights during the streak.
“You can’t go anywhere without strong goaltending,” said McDonald. “Maybe we weren’t playing as well (at times), and they held the fort while we regrouped.”
And it was a former Oilers captain that helped slay the winning streak. Spencer McElhinney, who was named Okotoks captain when the ‘07/08 season started before being dealt to Drayton Valley in October, notched a hat-trick vs. his old team in the Bandits’ Dec. 22 win. He joined Brooks via trade with Drayton Valley in November, for Nick Colliton.
McElhinney’s three goals came against Torris, the Drayton Valley player for whom he was dealt.
The longest-ever AJHL winning streak is 21, established by the Calgary Canucks in 1987-88.
Oilers leading scorer Elliot Sheen did much to propel the Oilers over their recent win streak. The 19-year-old had points in 11 of the 13 wins ending Dec. 22, scoring eight goals and 13 assists for 21 points in that span. Teammates Justin Daigle, Carter Madsen and David Civitaresse were just as impressive during the streak: Daigle collected four goals and 16 assists for 20 points, Madsen had nine goals and 19 points, and Civitaresse contributed eight goals and 18 points during the victory run. |
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