Photo Credit: Dale Fletcher
I’ll have what he’s having!
Noah Quinn’s big night was a huge factor in Cranbrook’s impressive 6-3 win over the Warriors in West Kelowna on Saturday night. The Nelson native put up five points (4 goals, 1 assist) en route to Cranbrook’s strong Saturday showing in the Okanagan.
A defence-heavy first period didn’t produce much action on either end of the rink. The Warriors had three power play attempts, but they couldn’t beat Nathan Airey – who was on his game in the Cranbrook crease. The two clubs carried a 0-0 deadlock into the second period, the Warriors held an 8-6 edge in shots on goal through the first twenty minutes.
Bucks forward Luke Pfoh broke a lengthy goal scoring drought in Merritt Friday night, and he kept his momentum going early in the second period. Just before the two-minute mark, Pfoh caught a pass near the Warriors blue line, skated to the circle, and picked the top corner to give Cranbrook a 1-0 lead. The Warriors and the Bucks traded penalties through the rest of the first half of the middle frame, and special teams would play a role in the tying goal. The Warriors managed to spur a 2-on-1 rush while killing a Cranbrook power play, West Kelowna forward Nick Roukounakis opted to keep the puck and managed to put a shot past Airey to vault his team into a 1-1 tie with a shorthanded goal at 10:09. The Bucks managed to retake their one-goal lead at 14:45 when Liam Hansson tipped a blue line point shot from Declan Ride. Noah Quinn made it a 3-1 lead for the Bucks when he finished off a solo rush with some soft hands deep in the Warriors zone at 18:06. The horn sounded to end the second period with Cranbrook holding on to their 3-1 lead, and they seemed poised to push their winning streak to three games.
The Bucks finally clicked on the power play to expand their lead in the third period. Noah Quinn tallied his second goal of the night at 5:30 to lift his team to a 4-1 lead – it was Cranbrook’s fifth power play attempt. Any waning hopes of a West Kelowna comeback were dashed on another Bucks power play halfway through the third period thanks to Noah Quinn’s third goal of the night, Quinn’s hattrick marker was also his 20th goal of the season – and the Bucks were up 5-1 with victory firmly within their grasp. West Kelowna did manage to get one goal back, via Nick Roukounakis’ second goal the game to cut Cranbrook’s lead to 5-2. However, Quinn wasn’t done yet. The Nelson product found the twine for his fourth goal of the hockey game at 17:37 to restore Cranbrook’s four-goal lead at 6-2. West Kelowna was able to inch a bit closer in garbage time with a goal from Marcus Joughin, cutting Cranbrook’s lead to 6-3 – but it was too little, too late After the final buzzer, Cranbrook secured their third straight victory with a 6-3 triumph over the West Kelowna Warriors.
Cranbrook’s record moves to 22-16-2-2, the Bucks went 2/7 on the power play and were 8/9 on the penalty kill. With Saturday’s win, Cranbrook has clinched their season series with the Warriors – they lead 4-2 after six games.
The Bucks finish their busy, three-game weekend road swing in Penticton on Sunday versus the Vees. Penticton has won both games versus Cranbrook this season. Puck drops for Sunday’s tilt in Penticton at 5:00 pm Mountain Time.
Buck Tracks:
- 5 points for Noah Quinn (4g, 1a). Quinn becomes first Bucks player to score four goals in a game.
- 3 assists for Tyson Dyck (6 points through last three games).
- Bucks clinch season series vs Warriors (lead 4-2)
- Liam Hansson and Luke Pfoh each record 1 goal and 1 assist
