The Portage Terriers’ 11-game win streak came to an end on Friday night when they lost 4-3 to the Northern Manitoba Blizzard.
The Terriers have struggled early in games throughout the season and Friday night was no different. Midway through the first period Keenan McNeill snapped home a shot over the shoulder of Terrier goalie Ryan Velan on the power play. 38 seconds later the Blizzard scored again with a Marlen Edwards point shot deflecting into the net.
There was no giving up on the Terrier bench as they started to claw their way back. Rhett Perrin banged home a loose puck at the side of the net, and Cameron Bullinger fired home a rebound on the power play to tie the game at 2 heading into the first intermission.
The Blizzard regained their lead early in the second period when Max Collyer tipped a shot perfectly between the legs of Velan. With time running out in the second period, Adam Belzil scored his 7th of the season with the man advantage to tie the game at 3.
Like the first and second period, the Blizzard scored early in the third period. Miguel Bouvier found some open space and fired a great shot under the cross bar. Portage continued to pour on the pressure, but couldn’t tie the game with the net empty. The Blizzard outshot the Terriers in each period and ended the night 37-30 in the shot department. Portage went 2/3 on the power play, and Northern Manitoba was 1/5.
These teams will face each other again on Saturday night in a rematch at 7 pm.