In a defining moment within a definitive victory, Tucker Robertson answered the bell in a big way as his Lloydminster Bobcats blanked the Fort McMurray Oil Barons 5-0 on Jan. 30 at the Hub.
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With as many right-handed punches as Bobcat goals, the rookie Robertson won his fight emphatically to put an exclamation mark on Lloyd’s key AJHL win over another North Division rival.
In rapid succession, the 18-year-old forward from West Kelowna, B.C., pounced on Fort Mac 20-year-old defenceman Spencer Kunz after the Oil Barons took exception with Robertson’s solid hit against D-man Patani Mutambo with 7:40 left.
“Yeah, I saw him with his head down and just decided to put my shoulder through his chest and see what that would do,” said Robertson, whose Bobcats were leading 3-0 at the time. “It led to a fight, and I stood my ground.
“(Kunz) kind of asked me to fight. I know (teammate) Matthew Hikida was next to me, wanting to go pretty badly. I dropped my gloves first, which was kind of funny. He just wanted to drop the gloves and stand up for his teammate, but I wasn’t having any of it.
“It was really my first-ever fight, so it was pretty good. I’m glad it went well.”
It certainly didn’t look like it was Robertson’s debut scrap. Then again, he hasn’t looked like a first-year player in junior A hockey. Playing valuable minutes and producing at a steady clip, he has put together a strong body of work in short order in the AJHL.
Robertson cued more crowd noise afterward as he left the ice. He credited his older brother Austin — a university student back home in Kelowna — for toughening him up off the ice.
“Me and him go at it a couple of times,” Tucker said with a smile. “Just friendly banter, but it definitely taught me a couple of nice tips and tricks.”
Robertson has had many tricks up his sleeve during a solid rookie season with the Bobcats. He added two more assists Friday to give him 26 points — including 18 assists — in 34 games. The Okanagan Hockey Academy U18 prep product has had a much steadier year than his favourite NHL team, the Toronto Maple Leafs.
While his spirited AJHL fight might not have been what enabled the Leafs to snap their six-game losing streak Saturday, Robertson’s well-rounded effort Friday clearly sparked the Bobcats (24-12-4) as they pulled even with the Oil Barons (23-14-6) in the North Division race.
It was that kind of night for Fort Mac, which appeared to be frustrated from the outset of the game and especially after the one-sided fight.
Justin Dumais, then the league scoring leader, was sitting in the penalty box — serving Kunz’s extra unsportsmanlike-conduct penalty — when Bobcats veteran Gus El-Tahhan ripped a one-timer past goaltender Nathan Claydon just 11 seconds into the power play.
Robertson entered the game with just eight penalty minutes this season. His two assists Friday were on first-period goals from Kael Screpnek, whose three-point night included the lone assist on defenceman Jaxan Hopko’s seventh goal of the season.
Three of the Bobcats’ goals came from specialty teams. El-Tahhan and Screpnek each tallied on power plays. Quinn Smith capped the scoring with an unassisted short-handed tally as he broke free in the final minute.
Along with his game-breaking goal that made it 3-0 early in the third period, Hopko (and Raphael Messier) assisted on the El-Tahhan marker five minutes later.
Ty Matonovich made 20 saves for his first shutout in 16 games as a Bobcat. The Oil Barons’ Claydon blocked 28 shots.
It was Fort McMurray’s first Lloydminster visit since a season-opening doubleheader in September on the historic first weekend of action in the new rink, formally known as the Cenovus Energy Hub. The teams split those games in Lloyd.
Overall, the Bobcats own a 4-1 record against the Oil Barons this season, including Lloyd’s overtime and shootout victories at Fort Mac in November. Lloyd visits the northern Alberta city one more time March 14 in the final regular-season game for both teams.
The Bobcats — 6-3-1 in their past 10 games — closed January with a complete performance Friday in front of another big Hub crowd of 1,301 fans. In attendance was former Bobcats coach Jeff Woywitka, watching the action with his fellow coaches from the Lloydminster Athletics hockey academy.
In the dressing room afterward, Lloyd recognized the team’s heroes of the night. Screpnek and Robertson received the hard hat and the Bobcats’ chain, respectively.
“He’s an awesome player,” Robertson said of Screpnek. “I love playing with him. He brings that spark to every line he’s on. Obviously, tonight, a couple of good plays and good net-front presence, popped a couple (of goals) and got an assist on that Hopko laser-beam (shot) from the blue-line.”
The Bobcats won the final two games of a three-part homestand in front of a combined 4,431 fans. They’re 4-1 in their past five outings.
“We’ve had a couple of struggle games recently, and we’re glad to have our feet back under us,” said Robertson, whose first and last names are identical to those of a 22-year-old American Hockey League forward from Ontario. “We definitely came to play a full 60 (minutes) today and showed them who’s the boss. We got those two extra points on them, and we’re tied with them now.”
RECONNECTS WITH FORT MAC’S MAKOKIS
As intense a game as it was on the ice, the personable Robertson took time afterward to chat with Fort McMurray defenceman Ethan Makokis. They were teammates as recently as last season at Okanagan Hockey Academy.
The St. Paul-born Makokis, 18, didn’t dress for Friday’s game in Lloyd. He had just rejoined the Oil Barons in the Border City after spending the past week in Saddle Lake Cree Nation for his grandmother’s funeral. Makokis has major-junior experience with the WHL’s Everett Silvertips and spent the early part of this season with the BCHL’s Langley Rivermen.
The Bobcats are on the road for five games over the next two weekends as they begin the final 15-game stretch in their 2025-26 regular season.
This weekend, Lloyd visits the league-leading Whitecourt Wolverines (30-10-1) on Saturday night and the North’s last-place Devon Xtreme (14-22-4) on Sunday afternoon.
The Bobcats’ next home game is against the Drumheller Dragons (20-17-6) on Feb. 20, three full weeks after Lloyd’s last appearance at the Hub.
Notably, the Bobcats have played three less games than the Oil Barons, the team Lloyd is tied with in the standings. Both of those teams were just four points behind the second-place Grande Prairie Storm (27-13-2) going into action this Wednesday night (Feb. 4), as Fort Mac hosted the Bonnyville Pontiacs (20-18-2) and Grande Prairie visited Devon.
After losing twice (5-2 and 3-1) in Drumheller last weekend, fifth-place Bonnyville was 10 points out of the North’s fourth and final playoff position.
The North front-runners, Whitecourt and Grande Prairie, each picked up points in multiple weekend games. Facing a couple of South Division teams, the Wolverines defeated the Calgary Canucks 4-1 on Sunday and the Canmore Eagles 5-3 on Saturday. The Storm bounced the Camrose Kodiaks 6-2 on Saturday, after losing to those same Kodiaks 4-3 in a shootout Friday. That was Grande Prairie’s first loss in nine games.
After visiting Fort Mac on Wednesday, Bonnyville continues its playoff push this weekend with a home-and-home series against Camrose. Those teams met in Bonnyville on Friday and Camrose on Saturday.
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