Luck was not on the side of the Cranbrook Bucks Wednesday night in another showdown with the Trail Smoke Eaters.
The two clubs played a close game for the first fifteen minutes of the opening period, but puck luck was advantageous for the Smokies. A quick rush from the Smokies at the 14:57 mark resulted in a Corey Cunningham goal for the Smoke Eaters. Later on, Bucks forward AJ Vasko was assessed a double-minor for tripping, and the road team took advantage with a power play goal from Teddy Lagerback. It was a 2-0 lead for the Smoke Eaters by the end of the first period.
The goals kept coming in the second period. Trail extended their lead to 3-0 with a Zach Michaelis goal off a 2-on-1 feed from Cunningham. The Bucks would get a pair of goals from Tyson Dyck and Johnny Johnson to pull within one goal of Trail, but the Smoke Eaters found a way to fill the net again. A point blast from Chris Kobelka for his first career BCHL goal and another tally from Michaelis restored Trail’s three-goal lead. Cranbrook would get one of those goals back on a 5-on-3 Bucks power play off a perfectly-placed wrist shot from Noah Quinn. An eventful second period would finally draw to a close with the Smoke Eaters holding a 5-3 lead.
The Bucks got close in the third period, but Trail kept finding ways to deflate Cranbrook’s momentum. The home team opened things up early in the third period with Dyck’s second goal of the night, pulling Cranbrook to within one goal again at 5-4. But the Smoke Eaters managed to hold off any late Cranbrook rallies, and added another two goals late in the period to preserve a big 7-4 win.
With Wednesday’s loss, Cranbrook’s record falls to 9-7-1. The Bucks have lost three of their last four games, and are winless in their last four home games. Despite the loss, the Bucks vastly outshot Trail 49-28.
The Bucks will begin a six-game road swing on Friday in Penticton before facing Vernon on Saturday. Their next home game is Teddy Bear Toss night on December 18th versus the Trail Smoke Eaters.
Buck Tracks:
- Tyson Dyck’s three-point night puts him at 25 points this season (11-14-25)
- The Bucks have lost four in a row at Western Financial Place.
- Two points for Andrew King, second multi-point game of the season.
- Smoke Eaters take 3-1 season series lead.
