The Portage Terriers fell 4-1 in game 1 against the Winkler Flyers on Friday night. Two early Winkler goals were too much to overcome for the Terriers who had a hard time sustaining pressure.
Both teams started physical with a clear playoff intensity. Portage managed a couple opportunities before Mike Svenson scored low glove side for Winkler on a two on one rush. The Flyers added another a few minutes later with Daniel Siso in the box for cross checking. Jace Legaarden was left alone in front of the net and went upstairs to make it 2-0 Winkler.
Portage seemed to shake off the slow start to begin the second period. Defenceman turned forward Jonny Ballos scored for Portage with a nice shot over Winkler goalie Malachi Klassen. The Flyers responded quickly when Svenson scored his second of the night just over a minute later with a perfect deflection. The goal took the wind out of the sails for Portage and it would stay 3-1 after 2.
The Flyers came out strong again in the third and got an insurance marker from Zach Nicolas. Pulling the goalie late in the game didn’t work for Portage and they were unable to tie up. The Terriers were outshot 35-26. Despite it being a physical game, there weren’t very many penalties. Portage was 0/2 on the power play and Winkler went 1/3.
The series now shifts to Portage for game 2 on Sunday at 6:30pm.