The West Kelowna Warriors were unable to complete the first-round sweep as they fell in a nail-biter on Wednesday night against the Cranbrook Bucks.
In the first period on Apr. 10, Bucks forward Shane Baker got the scoring started with a powerplay goal at the 11:50 mark of the frame.
But just 1:23 later, Dylan Krayer scored his first of the postseason for the Warriors to tie the game 1-1.
Just 1:07 into the second period, Warriors forward Felix Caron scored the only goal of the frame, giving West Kelowna a 2-1 lead with 20 minutes left to advance to the next round.
Early in the third, Viggo Nordström scored shorthanded to extend the Warriors lead.
There was no quit in Cranbrook though as they fought back to win the game and extend the series.
Less than a minute after Nordström’s goal, Tyler Wishart scored for the Bucks to make it a one-goal game.
At the 7:04 mark, Jack Silich scored to tie the game.
And with less than five minutes to go, Loke Södergren found the back of the net for the first time this postseason to give Cranbrook a 4-3 lead.
In the last few minutes, the Warriors had a powerplay opportunity to tie the game but weren’t able to convert on the opportunity.
Matthew DellaRusso made 38 saves in the loss for the Warriors while Carter Capton made 33 saves in the win.
With the win, Cranbrook extended the series but is still down 3-1. Game five goes on Friday night (Apr. 12) at Royal LePage Place at 7 p.m. in West Kelowna. If the Warriors win, they’ll advance to the second round. If the Bucks win, the series will go back to Cranbrook for game six on Sunday afternoon.
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