The Cranbrook Bucks are alive and kicking.
They defeated the visiting Prince George Spruce Kings 5-3 Tuesday night in Cranbrook to tie the BCHL Interior Conference quarterfinal series 2-2.
Consecutive wins for the Bucks on home ice at Western Financial Place erased the two-games-to-none lead the Spruce Kings built when they won the first two games of the series over the weekend in Prince George.
Johnny Johnson’s power-play goal late in the second period stood as the gamewinner.
Johnson’s first goal of the playoffs came 15 minutes into the second period while the Spruce Kings were killing a delay-of-game penalty handed out to winger Luc Laylin.
Laylin, who led all scorers Tuesday with two goals and an assist, couldn’t get settled while awaiting a draw in the Prince George end. After one false start as the linesman tried to drop the puck, Laylin decided at the last second to move from the hash mark to the boards and the referee called the penalty. The Bucks cashed in when Johnson got his stick on a loose puck that ticked off goalie Aaron Trotter after Bucks’ Declan Ride deflected a pass on goal. That gave the Bucks a 4-3 lead they took into the second intermission.
Tyson Dyck added an empty netter with 30 seconds left.
The teams will meet again for Game 5 on Thursday at Rolling Mix Concrete Arena.
After getting thrashed 3-0 the night before, the Spruce Kings should have been well-motivated to come back with a much better start than they could muster in Game 3, but it didn’t happen. They were on their heels most of the period, thoroughly outplayed, and paid a heavy price.
Goals from Jaden Fodchuk and Brendan Rogers 36 seconds apart midway through the first period gave the Bucks a 2-0 cushion. At that point, they were outshooting the Kings 10-1, and the 11-5 count at the end of the period flattered the Spruce Kings.
Whatever was said in the Kings’ dressing room in the first intermission, it had the desired effect. As if someone flicked a switch, the Kings offence sparked to life. Forty seconds into the second period, Kolton Cousins won a draw in the Bucks’ end and Laylin jumped on the puck, cut into the slot and rifled a wrister into the net.
The Kings gained puck possession off the ensuing face-off at centre and Colton Cameron dumped it in and Laylin raced in along the right side. He took the carom off the end boards and his shot from a sharp angle sailed in over Nathan Airey’s shoulder to tie the game 2-2 just 47 seconds into Period 2. It was the team-leading fourth goal of the playoffs for Laylin.
A few minutes later, while the teams were skating 4-on-4, the Bucks regained the lead. Liam Hansson circled just inside the offensive zone and fed a pass into the crease for Bauer Morrissey and he dragged the puck across and put it in with a backhander. Less than a minute later, with the Kings on a 4-on-3 power play, Laylin shoveled a pass along the ice to Simon Labelle and he redirected it in through the legs of Airey to tie it up again.
Not long after Johnson scored the go-ahead goal the Kings came close to tying it up late in the period on a 2-on-1 chance. Nathan Fox took the puck to the net but skated right into Airey as Ty Gagno put the rebound into the net. The goal was waived off and Fox was sent off for goaltender interference.
In the third period, down by a goal, Kings winger Nick Rheaume put two shots off the iron, one a goalpost and one off the crossbar.
The Kings had two power-play chances late in the game but were unable to get a shot on goal in either two-minute opportunity as the Buck shot-blockers did their jobs.
Game 6 will be played Saturday in Cranbrook. If a seventh game is needed it would be played Monday in Prince George.
