The Herd rattled off a pair of wins over the weekend, downing the Spruce Kings and the Vernon Vipers in a double-header at Western Financial Place.
The Bucks came away with a 4-2 win against the Vipers on Saturday night, as Jarrod Smith scored the game-winner in the middle period, while the squad stymied Vernon’s attempted comeback at the end.
Lee Parks opened the scoring early in the game for the Vipers, but Bauer Morrissey evened it up just over a minute later.
Luke Pfoh and Smith tallied in the middle period to build a two-goal lead.
However, Isaac Tremblay pulled the Vipers within one in the final period, but the Bucks held off Vernon till the end, with Donovan Frias adding an empty netter with four seconds to go in the affair.
Nathan Airey turned aside 18 shots for Cranbrook, while Roan Clarke made 30 saves for Vernon.
It was a quiet night for special teams, as both sides were only tagged with one minor penalty each.
The game also drew one of the largest crowds of the season, at 2,716 fans who came out to celebrate Family Faith Night.
Earlier on Friday, Noah Quinn scored the eventual game-winner as the Bucks felled the Spruce Kings 4-3.
The Bucks built a two-goal lead on efforts from Rhys Bentham and Nick Peluso in the opening period, before Jack Stockfish and Amran Bhabra responded in the middle period to even up the contest.
Jarrod Smith and Quinn scored in quick succession in the third period to regain the lead, wihle Prince George’s attempted comeback fell short as Ty Gagno tallied with less than 30 seconds to go.
Airey again manned the pipes for Cranbrook, turning aside 31 shots, while Jordan Fairlie made 23 saves in defeat for the Spruce Kings.
The weekend results mean the Cranbrook Bucks have officially clinched a playoff spot, and sit in second place in the Interior Conference, trailing only the Penticton Vees. The herd also sits in third place overall in the BCHL — well within striking distance of climbing up to second place — with only a three-point separation with the Nanaimo Clippers.
The Bucks will face their Kootenay rivals next weekend, with a home and home series against the Trail Smoke Eaters.