The Portage Terriers are just four games away from playoff hockey.
The Dogs will play their second-last home game of the regular season tonight against the Dauphin Kings as they look to come away with their eleventh-straight victory. Forward Mike Stubbs talks about the biggest factors in the sustained success.
"This last month and a half, we've been playing games like they are playoff games," Stubbs explains. "We know that's on the horizon here. If you take one night off at the end of March and going into April, it comes back to bite you. This last month and a half, we've really been drilling it into our heads that we have to keep playing playoff hockey, no matter who we're playing."
Austin Peters 🚨
— #theMJ (@mjhlhockey) March 9, 2023
What a beauty from the @PortageTerriers as Mike Stubbs and Ryan Botterill connect to find Peters on the doorstep. That’s 10 in a row for the Terriers 👀 pic.twitter.com/5b79adcLlb
Not only have the Terriers won ten in a row, they've also won 14 of their last 15 games and have outscored their opponents by 44 goals since the beginning of February. With a win tonight, Portage would be locked in as the first seed in the MJHL playoffs.
Portage is playing a home-and-home with a Dauphin team desperate for points. The Kings hold the final playoff spot in the MJHL's West Division but could either move up to second or fall out of the postseason completely, depending on how they fare in their final four games.
Three of the top six scorers on the Kings used to wear a Terrier uniform. Mason Smith, Blake Boudreau, and Jamie Valentino all have over 30 points this season and could be looking for revenge against their former team.
Stubbs outlines what they'll have to do tonight to keep the hot streak rolling.
"We just have to stick with it and stick to our gameplan," Stubbs continues. "We need all 20 guys in that room going every night."
The Terriers and Kings will face off tonight at 7:30 at Stride Place.