Brendan Shykora
It was oh so close for the Cranbrook Bucks this weekend, but no cigar.
The Herd’s double-header to the red-hot Vernon Vipers at Western Financial Place came down to the overtime shootout both times, with the Snakes coming out on top.
Vernon won their ninth straight Saturday, Feb. 5, in the East Kootenays, downing the Bucks 2-1 in a shootout. Vernon also scored scored a 3-2 decision Friday, Feb. 4.
The Vipers, who have won the first six of a season-long seven-game road trip, have seven straight wins in extra time .
Johnny Johnson scored a buzzer beater with less than a second left in the opening period to give Cranbrook the 1-0 lead. The Vipers equalized later as Seiya Tanaka-Campbell knocked home a rebound to even the game up at 1-1.
Liam Hansson scored first in the shootout and the Vipers’ Zack Tonelli had a rare miss. Tyson Dyck was stopped by David and Seiya was thwarted by Bucks goalie Nathan Airey. Noah Quinn was stopped and Luke Buss had to score to keep the shootout going for Vernon, which he did.
Zeth Kindrachuk was stopped and Anthony Cliche would get the opportunity to win it for his team. The D-man made a nice move to the backhand and the Vipers were once again victorious.
On Friday, Cranbrook got on the board early as Noah Quinn fired home his 16th goal of the season with assists to Johnny Johnson and Cole Assailly, two minutes into the game. The Bucks outshot the Vipers 12-8 in the period and held a 1-0 lead going into the second.
In the middle frame, Anthony Cliche got the Snakes on the board. Shortly after, Tyson Dyck restored the Bucks’ lead with a power play goal, deflecting home a point shot by Rhys Bentham.
Trailing 2-1 with 20 minutes to go, the Vipers came out buzzing in the third period, hemming the Bucks in their own zone for a good portion of the frame. The pressure led to a goal from Griffen Barr, who drove to the net and got a fortunate bounce as his shot rebounded off a Buck defender and in.
That brought the game to overtime, where each goalie stood tall, advancing the game to a shootout.
Clarke was perfect in the shootout, stopping both shots he faced. Meanwhile, the Vipers shooters went two for two: Zack Tonelli went goalpost and in and Talon Zakall ripped a low shot five-hole to give the Vipers the 3-2 victory.
Cranbrook, winless in their last three games, stands at 19-15-1-1 for fifth in the Interior, Vernon is sixth at 16-14-3-3, two points behind.