The Cranbrook Bucks are going the distance on their west coast road trip after taking a 2-1 shootout win over the Victoria Grizzlies Saturday.
A defensive battle began to unfold in the first period. Bucks goalie Braedyn McIntosh and Victoria’s Oliver Auyeung-Ashton were both perfect through the opening frame, and managed to preserve a 0-0 tie into intermission. Victoria outshot Cranbrook 11-9 through the first twenty minutes.
The game’s first goal finally came during the waning minutes of second period action. Anderson Pirtle tallied his fifteenth goal of the season at 16:36 to put Victoria in a 1-0 lead. The Bucks added another nine shots but failed to gain any ground by the middle buzzer. The game stood at a 1-0 Grizzlies lead through two periods.
Cranbrook’s blueline held strong through the first period, and the road team was eventually rewarded. Jacob Fletcher scored at 13:07 to vault Cranbrook into a 1-1 tie, prompting both teams to play cautiously through the remaining minutes of regulation time.
The third period ended in a 1-1 tie, prompting the Bucks to play extra frames for a second night in a row. Ten-minutes of 3-on-3 overtime failed to decide a winner, despite multiple chances for both teams. The game needed a shootout to choose a winner. McIntosh was perfect in Cranbrook’s crease through the shootout, stopping all three tries from Victoria. Julian Frias netted the lone goal in the shootout to secure Cranbrook’s 2-1 victory in Victoria.
Saturday’s win lift’s Cranbrook’s record to 10-13-1, the Grizzlies outshot the Bucks 36-32. On special teams, Cranbrook’s power play finished 0/3 and they went 4/4 on the penalty kill.
The Bucks will try to sweep their west coast road trip when they face they Surrey Eagles Sunday afternoon.
Buck Tracks:
- 35 saves for Braedyn McIntosh.
