A team effort from the Portage Terriers propelled them to a 3-1 win over the Niverville Nighthawks on Wednesday night. Ryan Velan stole the show in net, stopping 43 of the 44 shots he faced for his 13th win of the season.
Portage started the game with five of their normal forwards out of the lineup, and two affiliated players: Lawson O’Ray and Finley Titterson. For O’Ray, it was his first game in the MJHL.
The Nighthawks started strong and had a number of chances on two power play opportunities. Velan made some big saves and was eventually rewarded when forward Cam Bullinger opened the scoring. 1-0 Portage after one.
The refs put their whistles away in the second period and no penalties were called. Former Nighthawk Caleb Lepitre one-timed a nice pass from Rhett Platt to make it 2-0 Portage. Despite the two-goal lead, the Terriers were being outshot 29-15.
Portage continued to grind away in the third period to maintain their lead. With the Nighthawk net empty and 45 seconds left, Hayden Wheddon lifted a backhand over Velan’s glove to break his shutout bid. Scott Cousins added the empty net goal for Portage moments later to put it out of reach.
The Terriers are now two points back of Steinbach for second place. They are back in action on Saturday night against the Waywayseecappo Wolverines.