The Cranbrook Bucks came up short in a tight contest tonight (Sept. 29), falling 4-2 to the West Kelowna Warriors at Western Financial Place.
Bucks captain Jack McMinn returned from injury for his first game of the regular season.
West Kelowna’s Emmanuel Chan opened the scoring four minutes into the first period.
The Bucks answered at 17:00 when forward Gryphon Watson-Bucci beat the Warriors’ netminder, assisted by Teghan Mullin and Devin Smith.
Forty-two seconds later, forward Brayden Gourley scored to give the Bucks the lead, assisted by Shane Tronoski and Liam Magnuson.
Cranbrook Bucks vs West Kelowna Warriors at Western Financial Place on September 29, 2026. (Photo Credit: Simone Joseph)
The second period was scoreless but featured seven penalties, four of them served by the Bucks.
Twelve minutes into the third period, the Warriors’ Daxton Endicott scored to tie the game.
Chan scored his second goal at 18:41 to put West Kelowna ahead, then completed his hat trick with an empty-net goal to seal the win.
Bucks head coach Roshen Jaswal said after the game the group is learning to protect leads and praised the positives the team displayed.
Cranbrook Bucks vs West Kelowna Warriors at Western Financial Place on September 29, 2026. (Photo Credit: Simone Joseph)
“I think it’s just good lessons for our group that’s still coming together to kind of learn how to play with the lead and know that you can’t make mistakes and obviously in certain areas and stuff like that,” said Jaswal.
“But the group is still growing and still learning and I thought we did a lot of good things again tonight and had a good obviously forty minutes and just got to learn how to close a game out.
“I think we’re seeing the things that we want to see in certain areas and the things that we’re seeing that need fixing are coachable. So that’s always encouraging.”
Jaswal welcomed captain Jack McMinn’s return to the lineup and the positive impact’s he has on the team from a leadership perspective.
“It was huge. And I think he’s going to take a couple weeks obviously still to get up to speed and but just having his presence back there, I think was very, very noticeable,” he added.
“And as we get healthier and healthier here, I think it’s going to be fun to see how the group continues to build around those leaders.”
Jaswal said the turning point came when the Bucks became too defensive while protecting their third-period lead instead of “taking the game to them”.
Cranbrook Bucks vs West Kelowna Warriors at Western Financial Place on September 29, 2026. (Photo Credit: Simone Joseph)
Looking ahead to this weekend’s road trip, Jaswal said it’s important to learn how to play with a lead and stay aggressive.
“Learning how to play with that lead and knowing that you can’t let your foot off the gas in this league.”
“It’s a good league and there’s good players and all they need is those one or two opportunities.
“So yeah, I think we’ll get the guys back to work tomorrow and then we’ll be ready to go for the weekend.”
Next, the Bucks begin a two-game road trip against the Crusaders in Sherwood Park on Oct. 2 at 6:45 p.m.
They then travel to Spruce Grove to face the Saints on Oct. 3.
Cranbrook Bucks vs West Kelowna Warriors at Western Financial Place on September 29, 2026. (Photo Credit: Simone Joseph)
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