Photo: #17 Alexi Van Houtte-Cachero’s 3rd goal in 3 games made it interesting but it wasn’t enough as the Bucks escape with a 3-2 win Saturday.
Photo Credit: Tami Quan
October 16th, 2021
CRANBROOK, B.C. – The West Kelowna Warriors were unable to complete the Kootenay sweep after falling to the Cranbrook Bucks by a score of 3-1 Saturday night.
The Warriors got off to a great start with Tyler Cristall finding Elan Bar Lev Wise all open near the hashmarks allowing him to score his 3rd of the season and his 3rd goal in three nights to make it 1-0 Warriors just as a Cranbrook Bucks penalty expired.
The second frame was all Cranbrook Bucks. Four minutes into the period, Bucks blue liner Carysn Good would fire a shot through traffic. It would appear Warriors blue liner Ty Rubin picked up the rebound but it was immediately stolen away from Bucks forward Kellan Hjartarson who tied the game up at 1. Then the Bucks would continue to put the pressure on. During a Warriors powerplay, Kellan Hjartarson would go on the attack once again this time shorthanded making several moves to beat Warriors goaltender Justin Katz giving the Bucks their first lead of the hockey game. Then with under 3 minutes remaining in the hockey game, Noah Quinn would spring Tyson Dyck loose on an odd man rush and it was Dyck who would fire a wrist shot past Katz to give the Cranbrook Bucks a very comfortable two goal lead after two periods of play.
Down two goals in the third period, the Warriors needed a solid 20 minutes of play to make things interesting. Only a minute into the period Alexi Van Houtte-Cachero would score his third goal in as many games to cut the Bucks lead to one with plenty of time remaining. The Warriors would continue to pressure the Bucks inside their zone but Bucks goaltender Nathan Airey would stand tall propelling the Bucks to a 3-2 victory. At the final horn things got extra physical as Warriors forward John Evans and Marcus Joughin would drop the gloves with a couple Bucks players which could result in future discipline from the league for both clubs.
The Warriors head back home and then get ready for the BCHL Showcase in Chilliwack. Next game will be against the red hot Victoria Grizzlies. Puck drop at Friday October 22nd at 4:00pm PST from the Chilliwack Coliseum. The game will also be broadcast live on HockeyTV and the BCHLWarriors Mixlr feed.
