The penultimate regular season game for the Cranbrook Bucks had plenty of action, but the Merritt Centennials had a little more up their sleeves in terms of offence.
Plenty of first period scoring kept both teams busy early in the game. Noah Urness opened the scoring at 3:50 to give Cranbrook a 1-0 lead. Urness’ goal was followed by three Merritt goals in short order to give the home team a 3-1 lead by the 7:11 mark. The Bucks got one back from former Centennial Tyler Wishart, but Merritt’s Zach Losier added one more to give his team a 4-2 lead ahead of intermission.
The Cents added another three goals in the second period, while the Bucks got one from Donovan Frias. This gave Merritt a 7-3 lead by the second intermission.
Both teams traded third period power play goals, and the game ended in a 8-4 final giving Merritt the win and ensuring a seventh place finish for the Bucks in the Interior.
Thursday’s loss drops Cranbrook’s record to 20-30-3, the Bucks outshot Merritt 34-32. On special teams, Cranbrook’s power play went 3/7 and they finished 2/4 on the penalty kill.
The Bucks finish their regular season tonight versus the Salmon Arm Silverbacks.
Buck Tracks:
- 8 points in 5 games for Noah Urness since returning to Bucks lineup
