Portage Terriers

The Portage Terriers had 6 representative members at the annual MJHL-SJHL showcase on January 30th and 31st. The event was held at the Seven Oaks Sportsplex in Winnipeg, with 3 teams made of players from each league attending. 

The Terriers playing were Captain Tayem Gislason, Alternate Captains Slade Stanick and Parker Scherr, and first-year Terriers Nolan Nenow and Owen Witt. Gislason, Scherr, Stanick and Nenow all played, with Assistant Coach Robby Moar behind the bench with the Red 20U team, while Owen Witt played on the 18U team.

Every year, hockey players across Canada and the United States leave their hometowns to play hockey in different regions. The Portage Terriers often host a large percentage of their roster with billets in Portage and the surrounding area. Many of these players are from cities or towns a great distance from the central Manitoba region. Among those players this year is Parker Scherr, who was acquired from the Olds Grizzlys of the Alberta Junior Hockey League.

The Portage Terriers started slow but finished strong as they beat the Winnipeg Blues 7-3 on Sunday night.

Penalty trouble was the downfall of the Terriers in the first period. Every time Portage found the back of the net the Blues responded with a power play goal. Terrier captain Tayem Gislason was moved to forward for the game, but was on the blueline for the power play when he opened the scoring with his 9th of the season. Evan Gradt made a nice move off the wall and snapped a shot past Jayden Catellier seven minutes later.

A two goal lead wasn’t enough for the Portage Terriers to hold off the Neepawa Titans on Friday night as they fell 5-4 in a shootout.

The Portage Terriers got back in the win column Wednesday night, narrowly beating the Winkler Flyers 2-1 at Stride Place. The Terrier win ended the Flyers 8-game winstreak. A penalty would get the Terriers in trouble early in the first period, as Parker Scherr was assessed a minor for interference just under 4 minutes into the game. 

On the ensuing powerplay, Flyers forward Trent Penner opened the scoring. He found himself wide open on the doorstep, and tapped home his 20th goal of the season.

The Portage Terriers prepare to face another team ahead of them in the standings tonight when the Winkler Flyers come to town.

The teams have faced off twice this season, each claiming a win. Winkler won the first contest 4-3 in a shootout at Stride Place, and Portage taking a 4-0 victory over the Flyers at the Winkler Arena.

The Portage Terriers have five players and a coach attending this year's MJHL-SJHL showcase in Winnipeg. The rosters were announced on Tuesday, January 16th, on the MJHL's website. The representatives are captain Tayem Gislason, his partner on defence Parker Scherr, forward standouts Slade Stanick and Nolan Nenow, and Owen Witt will be manning the blueline for the 18-and-under team. Assistant coach Robby Moar will also be behind the bench for the 20-and-under team wearing red.

Gislason says it's nice to be honoured with a selection.

The Portage Terriers lost 2-1 to the Steinbach Pistons on Friday night. The Terriers got their lone goal from Cam Bullinger, who snapped a wrist shot home from between the faceoff dots.

Noah Szabo score both goals for the Pistons from similar areas on the ice. The smooth-skating defenseman scored two goals, both in the area between the ringette line and the blueline with traffic in front of Jayden Catellier, giving the Terrier netminder little chance to stop the puck. Both of Szabo’s goals were scored on the powerplay.

The Portage Terriers are warming up for another contest against the Steinbach Pistons. 

Steinbach has won 4 of the 5 meetings between the clubs so far this season.

The Terriers have scored a combined 9 goals through those 5 games and are looking for more offense in tonights game. The defense has also struggled, allowing 24 goals against Steinbach so far.

Portage has added another win to their win streak after their 8-3 victory on Wednesday over the Winnipeg Blues.

History was made on Wednesday night when the Portage Terriers beat the Winnipeg Blues 8-3 at Stride Place. The win was the 671st regular season victory of Terrier head coach and GM Blake Spiller’s career, breaking the record previously held by Doug Stokes.