After starting their inaugural season 1-1, the Cranbrook Bucks have now lost eight straight and are hoping to right the ship on Wednesday against the Penticton Vees.
It’s been a tough first half for the Bucks, who have 10 games left in the shortened BCHL season.
Bright spots for the Bucks include the play of 16-year-old rookie Walker Gelbard. The West Vancouver native has 9 points (2 goals, 7 assists) in the team’s first 10 games. He technically joined the team in the Penticton Pod as an affiliate but has quickly earned every minute of ice-time. He co-leads the team in scoring alongside veteran Zeth Kindrachuk (3 goals, 6 assists).
Besides Gelbard and Kindrachuk, rookies Tyson Dyck and Noah Quinn have also been strong for the Bucks. Dyck has 5 points (3 goals, 2 assists) in 6 games while Quinn has 4 points (1 goal, 3 assists) in 5 games.
All four players will need to lead Cranbrook’s offense against a strong Penticton team that has lost just once so far this year.
Luc Wilson (10 goals, 7 assists) leads the Vees with 17 points in 10 games and is tied for third amongst all BCHL skaters. Penticton also had three other skaters with more than 12 points in their opening 10 games. Between the pipes, Kaeden Lane has a .944 SV%, a 1.25 GAA, and 3 shutouts in 8 starts, all of which top the BCHL for goalies with more than 3 games played. Lane was also named the BCHL Player of the Week on Monday.
Cranbrook and Penticton clash for the sixth time, hitting the ice at the South Okanagan Events Centre at 8 p.m. MT. The game can be watched live on BCHL TV.
