Here is the Cranbrook Bucks beat report ahead of game three of their best-of-seven series against the Prince George Spruce Kings tonight in Cranbrook.
Audio version:
The Bucks played their first-ever playoff game on Friday night when they opened the BCHL playoffs in Prince George.
The postseason didn’t get off to a great start for the Bucks, as they surrendered a pair of goals and were outshot 17-8 in the opening 20 minutes of game one.
Cranbrook did improve as the game went on and outshot the Spruce Kings 20-16 in the final 40 minutes, but it wasn’t enough as the Bucks lone goal came with just 25 seconds remaining off the stick of Zeth Kindrachuk.
Game two featured a much better start and more consistent effort from the visitors from Cranbrook, however a pair of Prince George goals 2:29 apart early in the second period proved to be the difference.
Tyson Dyck scored the Bucks lone tally of the contest for his first playoff goal, and Nathan Airey kicked aside 30 saves in a losing effort for the second consecutive night.
They return home for game three following a pair of 4-1 losses on the road, desperately needing a win to get back in the series.
After scoring just two goals in the first two games, Cranbrook will need to find more offence on home ice, but it won’t be an easy task without a couple of important forwards.
The Bucks were without both Noah Quinn and Liam Hansson in game two as they each served the first of two-game suspensions stemming from game misconduct penalties assessed in game one.
They will both conclude their suspensions during game three tonight and be eligible to return to the lineup for game four on Tuesday.
Special teams has been a factor in the series as Cranbrook went 0-for-6 on the powerplay in Prince George, and while they did go 8-for-10 on the penalty-kill, they can’t afford to give up any powerplay goals against and not capitalize on their own chances in their home rink.
Spruce Kings goalie Aaron Trotter has stopped 49 of 51 shots in the series, so besides taking care of special teams, objective number one has to be making life more difficult for him.
Following game three tonight, game four will go tomorrow night in Cranbrook.
Having lost each of the first two games of the series, the Bucks are hoping to see a game five on Thursday night in Prince George, and then return home for a game six in Cranbrook on Saturday night.
This beat report is also available on the Bucks Network Podcast on Apple and Spotify.
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