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West Kelowna Warriors crush Cranbrook Bucks in Game 7 of first-round playoff

The Warriors were up 3-0 in the series but the Bucks battled back to tie it and force Game 7
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The West Kelowna Warriors are onto the second round of the BCHL playoffs after winning Game 7 and the Interior Conference Quarter Final series against the Cranbrook Bucks at Prospera Place on Tuesday, April 16, 2024. (Tami Quan Photography)

It was likely not how the West Kelowna Warriors wanted to win their playoff series against the Cranbrook Bucks - but they got the job done.

The Warriors were up 3-0 but the Bucks battled back to tie it and force Game 7 of the Interior Conference Quarter Final on Tuesday (April 16) night at Royal LePage Place.

West Kelowna won the game 5-1. The Warriors were up 4-0 by 4:30 of the third period on goals from Brennan Nelson (1), Viggo Nordström (3) on the power play, Dylan Krayer (2) and Felix Carson (5).

The Bucks got on the scoreboard with a short-handed goal nine minutes later to make it 4-1. West Kelowna’s Jackson Kyrkostas (2) fired into an empty net at 16:44 for the 5-1 win.

Warriors goaltender Matthew DellaRusso earned his third playoff victory making 18 saves on the 19 shots he faced.

West Kelowna outshot Cranbrook 38-19 and went 1/2 on the power play.

The Warriors advance to round two of the BCHL playoffs against the Salmon Arm Silverbacks. Game 1 is Friday (April 19) night at Royal LePage Place (RLP) with a 7:00 PM puck drop.

Tickets are available for purchase on the Warriors website, the Warriors office, and the RLP box office, which opens one hour before puck drop on game day.

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Gary Barnes

About the Author: Gary Barnes

Recently joined Kelowna Capital News and WestK News as a multimedia journalist in January 2022. With almost 30 years of experience in news reporting and radio broadcasting...
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