The Cranbrook Bucks returned home Friday night after five consecutive road games, and it was a great homecoming for the Key City club – who took a 6-3 win over the Wenatchee Wild.
The Wild didn’t wait long to pump some silence into the Western Financial Place crowd. At 5:47, Parker Murray found a loose puck near the Cranbrook blue line and beat Nathan Airey on a solo rush to put Wenatchee in a 1-0 lead. The Wild made it 2-0 on a power play goal off a point shot from Brett Oberle. Cranbrook cut the lead to 2-1 via a Kellan Hjartarson marker at 13:54. The Bucks held a 13-9 shots lead after twenty minutes, but the road team maintained a 2-1 lead.
Whatever changes the Cranbrook Bucks made during the first intermission worked very well in the second period. The Bucks got off to a quick start, Declan Ride tallied just under one minute into the period to tie the game 2-2. Shortly after, Cam Kungle lifted a well-placed point shot past Wild goalie Tyler Shae to give the Bucks a 3-2 lead. The score remained static until the final minutes of the period, when Luke Pfoh and Tyson Dyck each picked up goals for the Bucks fifteen seconds apart. The game had a much different look when the buzzer sounded to end the second period, with the Bucks holding a 5-2 lead.
The pace of play settled down in the third period, each team traded a single goal through the final frame. Wenatchee pulled closer to the Bucks with a goal from Owen Bohn at 7:36. However, a late empty net goal from Liam Hansson sealed the 6-3 win for Cranbrook.
With Friday’s win, Cranbrook’s record improves to 23-17-2-2. The Bucks were unable to convert on two power play chances, their penalty kill finished 2/3. The shots count finished at a 34-34 tie.
The Bucks complete their double header with Wenatchee Saturday night.
Buck Tracks:
– 3 points for Noah Quinn, extends point streak to 10 games (17 points)
– 2 points for Liam Hansson (3 multi-point games in last four games).
– 4 game point streak for Cam Kungle (1 goal tonight).
Photo Credit: Tim Matwey
