The Winkler Flyers come to town on Friday night for their fourth matchup against the Dogs this year.
The Portage Terriers are warming up for an action-filled weekend. Ashton Fishley and Adler Johnston both spoke about the challenge of facing the Flyers.
Fishley noted, "I think it's going to be a really good test for us. We beat them the last time we played them, and they're going to be hungry; they're going to want to beat us. We're pretty tight in the standings, so it's going to be a very aggressive game. We're going to have to win battles, bring our hardhats and lunchpails."
Johnston adds that preparation will be key.
"I think it's just coming to the rink every day and just battling and practicing and pushing each other to get better. I think we prepare for every game the same, whether it's a team that's at the top of the standings or the bottom of the standings, we still come to the rink every day and just work. I think the mindset this week is to push each other and make sure we're ready and make sure our bodies are ready for Winkler."
The teams have met three times this season, with the Dogs taking winning the last two.
Puck drop for the game is at 7:30.
Tale of the Tape
Portage: 29-10-4-4
Winkler: 34-7-2-2
Head-to-Head: (Portage's record)
This season: 2-0-0-1
Last 5 seasons: 8-8-0-1
Leading Scorers:
Portage:
Gabriel Laflamme - 14-28-42
Slade Stanick - 14-27-41
Nolan Nenow - 10-24-34
Parker Korman - 16-18-34
Ashton Fishley 5-26-31
Winkler:
Dalton Andrew - 30-32-62
Trent Penner - 24-36-60
Brody Beauchemin - 13-40-53
Jakob Jones - 17-19-36
Zach Nicolas - 15-20-35