The Cranbrook Bucks are looking to rebound from Saturday’s 5-4 loss to the Spruce Grove Saints.
The Bucks looked good through the first twenty minutes. Cranbrook opened the scoring with a well-placed shot from Kaslo Ferner to jump to a 1-0 lead at 7:05. The Saints quickly tied the game with a short handed goal from Ryan Johnstone off a Bucks turnover. However, the Bucks were able to retake the lead at 11:30 when Matthew Gilmore finished a nice play on an odd man rush. Cranbrook’s lead was 2-1 at intermission.
The flood gates opened in the second period. The Bucks appeared to have the game in hand just past the halfway mark, with goals from Nick Capasso and another from Ferner putting them in a 4-1 lead, but the Saints still had plenty of gas in the tank. Two quick goals from Ryan Johnstone and one from Oscar Wu suddenly eliminated Cranbrook’s lead, and left the game at a 4-4 tie after forty minutes.
Both defenses clamped down in the third period, it was a late goal off a Saints faceoff win from Brody Juck which proved to be the difference-maker to give Spruce Grove a late 5-4 lead. Cranbrook ran out of time to net a response, and took a 5-4 loss to the Saints.
Saturday’s loss drops Cranbrook’s record to 9-5-0. On special teams, Cranbrook finished 0/2 on the power play and 4/4 on the penalty kill, each team netted one shorthanded goal. Spruce Grove outshot the Bucks 46-32.
The Bucks won’t have to wait long to get another crack at the Saints, the two clubs meet again Friday night in Spruce Grove.
Buck Tracks:
- 2 goals for Kaslo Ferner, 2 assists for Blake Cotton
- 1 assist for Jacob Fletcher, 14 points through 14 games
