The 2022-23 edition of the BCHL Kootenay rivalry continues to favour the east side of the Kootenay Pass.
The Cranbrook Bucks record versus the Trail Smoke Eaters through the regular season stands at 6-0 following Friday’s 3-2 triumph at the historic Cominco Arena.
A hungry Trail squad broke the scoring early, a Jordan Hendry goal at the 37 second mark of the first period gave the Smoke Eaters a 1-0 lead. The Bucks bounced back just over five-minutes later with a Jeremy Tremblay power play goal to vault into a 1-1 tie. First period action ended at a 1-1 deadlock, Trail outshot the Bucks 13-12 through the opening twenty minutes.
Neither team was budging too much in the second period, Bucks goalie Carter Capton and Smokies netminder Tegan Kendrick both held their ground through most of the middle frame. Trail managed to tally the lone goal of the second period within the last two minutes, Josh Schenk converted on a power play and made it a 2-1 Smoke Eaters advantage ahead of the buzzer.
The Bucks weren’t set to see their winning streak versus Trail evaporate, a Blake Cotton goal at 3:33 of the third period off a breakaway rebound tied the game 2-2 and signaled a momentum swing. Cranbrook followed up with a solo rush from Cooper Boulanger to take their first lead of the game at 3-2 at the 6:54 mark. The Bucks were able to cling to that lead through the dying minutes despite a push from the home team, and they managed to leave with a 3-2 win to claim the first half of this weekend’s home-and-home.
Friday’s win pushes Cranbrook’s record to 28-10-1-1, they’re on a three-game winning streak. The Bucks outshot Trail 35-30 Friday night.
The two clubs meet again in Cranbrook Saturday.
Buck Tracks:
- Cooper Boulanger scores his first career BCHL goal.
- Bucks are 14-9-1-1 vs Trail all time.
- Rhys Bentham (1a) extends point streak to six games.
