PHOTO: JACK MURRAY
The Cranbrook Bucks (1-7-0-0) came up just short Friday evening, losing to the Trail Smoke Eaters (4-4-0-0) by a score of 4-3.
The Smoke Eaters got off to a quick start, with Quinn Disher scoring just 1:09 into the opening frame to take a 1-0 lead before back-to-back goals from Kalen Szeto (PP) and Brady Hunter gave Trail a 3-0 lead. Cranbrook’s Zeth Kindrachuk got the lone goal of the second period to cut the Smoke Eaters lead down to 2. Walker Gelbard tallied his first goal in the BCHL 2:18 into the 3rd period to bring the Bucks within 1. An unfortunate penalty gave Trail a late powerplay which saw Ryan Helliwell score to restore the Smoke Eaters 2-goal lead. A late push from the Bucks resulted in a Rhys Bentham goal, but Trail would eventually hang on to win by a score of 4-3. Cranbrook’s Nathan Airey stopped 26/29 shots while Trail’s Cayden Hamming stopped 29/32 shots.
Taco Time 3 Stars
1st Star: #26 Walker Gelbard (CRA)
2nd Star: #18 Noah Wakeford (TRA)
3rd Star: #35 Cayden Hamming (TRA)
FortisBC Energy Player of the Game: #15 Zeth Kindrachuk (CRA)
The Bucks’ next game is Sunday, April 18 at 5PM MST against the Penticton Vees (7-1-0-0) at the South Okanagan Events Centre. All games can be caught on HockeyTV and Shaw Spotlight.
