The Cranbrook Bucks continue to run into hot goalies in Salmon Arm, as was evident in Saturday’s 3-1 loss to the Silverbacks.
The Bucks vastly outplayed Salmon Arm through the first period, but it was the home team who managed to get on the scoresheet first. The Silverbacks broke the scoreless deadlock at 8:20 with Jacob Bonkowski’s 6th goal of the season. Cranbrook outshot Salmon Arm 15-9 though the first period, but the Silverbacks led 1-0 at intermission, thanks largely to goaltender Ryan Grout.
Cranbrook once again held the edge in play through second period action, and they managed to thwart all of Salmon Arm’s opportunities. The Bucks were finally able to solve Grout in the final minute of the middle frame, thanks to a precision shot on the power play from Luke Pfoh, to tie the game 1-1. The game held at a 1-1 tie through the second intermission.
It appeared overtime would be a certainty as both teams clamped down through the third period, but a late Salmon Arm flurry flipped the script on Cranbrook. The Silverbacks received goals through the final five minutes from Marcus Broberg and JJ Monteiro to take a late 3-1 lead. The Bucks tried to stage a push by pulling their goalie for an extra attacker, but they were unable to find the net, and the Silverbacks skated away with a 3-1 win.
Saturday’s loss drops Cranbrook’s record to 8-13-1, the Bucks outshot Salmon Arm 33-23.
The Bucks are back on the road next weekend with stops in Powell River, Victoria and Surrey starting Friday on the Sunshine Coast.
Buck Tracks:
- 1 assist for Kaslo Ferner (5 points through last 3 games).
