It was another close one but in the end, it was two more points for the Terriers. In a rare afternoon game Sunday, Portage beat Niverville 5-4 thanks to a late-game goal. The two points give the Terriers a four-point lead over Steinbach in the race for the top spot in the league. The Pistons, however, have played one less game.
It was all Terriers early on in the game as Ryan Botterrill scored twice before the game was nine minutes old, the first a short-handed marker just before the 3-minute mark. The Dogs took a 3-1 lead into the dressing room after 20 minutes and then Botterill would complete the hat trick just over a minute into the second. It was his second game in a row with three goals and he now has 32 on the season. The 4-1 lead would not hold up though as the Nighthawks would score one before the end of the period and then two more in the third to tie it up with 3:55 left in the game. With overtime looming, Austin Peters put that thought to rest when he potted his 16th of the year with 1:26 to go in the game. From there, Bailey Monteith would shut the door for his 17th win of the year. The netminder turned aside 36 of the 40 shots he faced.
The Terriers once again iced a smaller line-up of 17 skaters as injuries have taken a major toll on the team. Despite missing some key players, the club maintains a 34-10-1-1 record. Over the weekend, veteran defender Kian Calder was named team captain and it was the first game for the local product with the "C" on his jersey.
The next match for the team is on the road Thursday night in Virden (broadcast on CFRY) and their next home game is Saturday when they host Winkler.