The Cranbrook Bucks kept close with the BCHL’s top-seeded team Friday night, but the Salmon Arm Silverbacks were able to walk away with a 3-0 victory.
Cranbrook had plenty of first period chances, but weren’t able to finish. Silverbacks goalie Owen Say was perfect on all 20 shots he faced in the opening frame. Salmon Arm scored the lone first period goal, via Aidan Lindblad at 11:01. The ‘Backs held a 1-0 lead after the first twenty minutes.
Each team traded power plays to begin the first few minutes of second period action, but neither side could convert. However, the Silverbacks would strike again during 4-on-4 action. Defenceman Mike Ladyman made use of the extra room on the ice to take the puck for a skate, his shot would be redirected by Noah Serdachny at 15:45. After 2 periods, Cranbrook held a 27-12 shots lead, but were down 2-0 to Salmon Arm.
Salmon Arm managed to shut the game down in the third period. The road team held strong on the defensive and negated any Cranbrook chances in the third period. Silverbacks captain Daniel Panetta iced the game for Salmon Arm with an empty net marker to secure a 3-0 victory.
The win drops Cranbrook’s record to 18-14-2, Salmon Arm improves to 26-4-2 and they havee not lost in regulation in any of their last twelve games. The Bucks finished 0/2 on the power play and Salmon Arm went 0/1 with the man-advantage. Cranbrook outshot the Silverbacks 39-27.
These two teams have a rematch Saturday night to close their double-header.
Buck Tracks:
- Cranbrook leads season series vs Salmon Arm 2-1.
- Bucks home record falls to 9-6-1.
- Cranbrook currently 5th place in Interior Conference.
