That’s strike two for the Cranbrook Bucks on their trip to Prince George after a close call in Friday’s 4-3 loss to the Spruce Kings.
The Bucks entered the hump game of a three-game set in the Caribou after taking a 3-0 loss to Prince George Thursday night, and the Spruce Kings were able to get their wheels in motion early in Friday’s clash.
Sprucies forward Kolton Cousins opened the scoring just thirty-nine seconds into the first period, Prince George would get another goal from Rowan Miller at 5:32 to put his team up 2-0. The Bucks would bounce back less than a minute later, via Tyson Dyck’s 13th goal of the season at 6:07. Kellan Hjartarson tied the game at 10:56 to cap off the scoring for an exciting first period.
Neither team was able to break the deadlock in the second period, leaving the two teams tied 2-2 after forty minutes.
Cranbrook was able to take an early third period lead with Tyson Dyck’s second goal of the game at 1:26 on a Bucks power play. However, the home team was not ready to throw in the towel. The Spruce Kings tied the game 3-3 at 13:02 with a Killan McGregor-Bennett marker. Prince George’s power play paid dividends with less than five minutes left in the third period with a Kolton Cousins goal at 15:05, putting the Spruce Kings in a 4-3 lead. The Spruce Kings caught a late penalty in the final minute of the third period, but the Bucks ran out of time and ended up taking a 4-3 loss, their second loss in as many nights to Prince George.
Unlike Thursday, special teams played a big role in Friday’s game. Cranbrook’s power play finished scored once on four tries, while they killed four of Prince George’s six attempts with the man-advantage. Prince George won the shots battle 28-23.
Following Friday’s loss, the Bucks see their record fall to .500 at 10-10-1, they’re sixth in the Interior Conference. The Spruce Kings are third in the Interior at 13-7.
The Bucks end their three-game run in Prince George Saturday night, and they will hope to avoid a strikeout after taking losses in the first two games of their northern road trip.
Buck Tracks:
- 2 goals, 1 assist for Tyson Dyck (9th multi point game of the season, 4th three-point game)
- 0-2 season series vs Prince George.
- 7th goal of the season for Kellan Hjartarson.
