It’s safe to say the Cranbrook Bucks had a successful showing at the BCHL Showcase in Abbotsford.
This after sweeping their two games in the Fraser Valley with the latest coming by way of a 5-2 victory over the Nanaimo Clippers Tuesday morning.
A Cranbrook Bucks power play midway through the first period allowed the Kootenay club to open the scoring with Patrick Murphy finding the twine. The Clippers fought back for a 1-1 tie thanks to a Cole Lonsdale goal at 13:10, and the deadlock remained intact through intermission.
Nearing the halfway mark of the second period, a Nanaimo power play goal from Andrew Brown lifted his Clippers to a 2-1 lead, but the good times didn’t last long for the Vancouver Island team. The Bucks wrangled back into a tie with a Shane Baker tally after trailing for just fifty-seven seconds, this was followed with goals from Rasmus Svartstrom and Bryce Sookro. Cranbrook held a 4-2 lead after forty minutes.
The Bucks fired a barrage of shots on the Clippers net in the third period, but were largely held at bay. The lone goal in the final frame came from Cranbrook’s Kaslo Ferner, thus icing a 5-2 victory for the Bucks.
Tuesday’s win lifts Cranbrook’s record to 7-1 and puts them on a four game winning streak. On special teams, Cranbrook’s power play finished 2/5 and they went 5/6 on the penalty kill. The Bucks outshot Nanaimo 34-23.
Cranbrook will aim to push their winning streak to five games on Friday when they face the Smoke Eaters in Trail.
Buck Tracks:
- 2 point games for Tanner Fennell, Bryce Sookro and Kaslo Ferner
- Jaden Cholette stops 21 of 23 shots
- Matthew Gilmore (1a) has points in 6 of Cranbrook’s 8 games