Saturday’s preseason showdown between the Cranbrook Bucks and Trail Smoke Eaters packed plenty of excitement, with the Bucks earning a hard-fought win in front of a home crowd.
Trail appeared to have the edge through the opening half of the first period, building a 2-0 lead via goals from Lucas Marshall and Mathieu Cobetto-Roy.
The Bucks managed to gain a response shortly after the midway mark of the opening frame thanks to a well-placed point shot from Loke Sodergren to cut Trail’s lead to 2-1 at intermission.
Cranbrook managed to take control of the pace of play in the second period, they were rewarded with a goal from Zion Green on a rush to tie the game at 2-2 at 7:55.
Both teams traded goals in the final minute of the middle frame. Trail briefly regained their lead off a Ridge Dawson goal at 19:32, only to have the Bucks pull back in a 3-3 tie by way of a Donovan Frias deflection at 19:55.
Both teams settled down on the defensive side in the third period. A point shot from Bucks defender Brady Yakesh at 11:26 vaulted Cranbrook to a 4-3 lead.
Trail failed to gain ground on the Bucks in the dying minutes despite a late push, and Cranbrook was able to preserve a 4-3 win to close their preseason schedule.
Cranbrook outshot Trail 49-27 Saturday night, while each team managed to net a power play goal.
The Bucks will shift their attention to their regular season debut on Friday in Trail versus the Smoke Eaters.
Buck Tracks:
- Sodergren and Yakesh each tally 3 points.
