A Cinderella playoff run has been cut short for the Cranbrook Bucks following Tuesday’s 5-1 loss to the West Kelowna Warriors in the seventh game of their first round series.
The Bucks struggled to produce offence in the first period, and they were heavily outshot by the Warriors at 21-5. It took the Warriors until near the end of the period to solve Bucks goalie Carter Capton, despite firing a barrage of shots. West Kelowna captain Brennan Nelson broke the scoreless deadlock with just nineteen seconds remaining in the opening frame to take a 1-0 lead into intermission.
The Warriors added to their lead in the second period with goals from Viggo Nordstrom and Dylan Krayer. The Bucks managed just six shots through the middle frame, and trailed 3-0 at intermission.
Any hopes of a Cranbrook comeback were dashed early in the third period thanks to a Warriors goal from Felix Caron at 4:30 to increase their lead to 4-0. The Bucks did manage to inch closer with a Julian Frias tally a few minutes past the midway mark, but that was as close as they would get. The Warriors added a late empty net goal from Jackson Kyrkostas to take a 5-1 win in game seven and a 4-3 series victory to move on to round two.
The Bucks were outshot 38-19 through Tuesday’s game. On special teams, the Bucks went 0/1 on the power play while adding a short-handed goal and they finished 1/2 on the penalty kill.
Tuesday’s loss brings an end to the Cranbrook Bucks’ playoff run, we look forward to getting started for the 2024-25 campaign in a few months.
Buck Tracks:
- Thank you Bucks fans for your support through the season and playoffs. We look forward to hitting the ice again in September. Have a great and safe summer, see you at the rink.
