The Portage Terriers picked up their first win of the post season on Sunday night, beating the Steinbach Pistons 3-2 at Stride Place. The best of seven MJHL quarter final is now tied at one game apiece.
The Terriers came out of the gate stronger in game two than they did in the opener on Friday. Portage forward Decker Mujcin slid the puck under Christian Green on a shorthanded breakaway early in the first period to open the scoring. Seven minutes later the Pistons tied the game off the rush. Mathis Laplante’s first shot was stopped, but the puck popped over Terrier goalie Mitchell Kathler’s glove, and Laplante tucked in the rebound. Portage would respond with a late goal from Breck Hirrschoff. Grant Dardis fed him with a perfect pass in front and he made no mistake on the one-timer. This left the score 2-1 Portage after the first frame.
The second period started with four-on-four play while Tristan Gravenor and James Fuchs were in the box. Thirty seconds after puck drop Parker Scherr was sprung in behind the Pistons defence and he scored upstairs to make it 3-1 Portage.
“I don’t score too many, but when I do they always make me happy, so I was lucky enough to get a really good pass from Nolan,” says Scherr. “We just know that when we play physical and compete as hard as we can and stick to our game plan, I think it’ll be advantageous for us in the future.”
Steinbach started to pour on the pressure as the second period went along. Eventually Brayden Berg tipped a point shot out of the air past Kathler to draw to within one. 3-2 Terriers after 2.
The third period was tightly contested, but the Pistons couldn’t get enough sustained pressure. Kathler closed out the game and finished the night with 35 saves. The Terriers were 0/3 on the power play but 6/6 on the penalty kill.
“Obviously it was a huge win and you know, there’s an old saying like ‘the series doesn’t really start until someone loses at home’. So, it was really crucial that we were able to find a way to win tonight,” says Scherr. “It’s just a huge momentum builder going into the next game.”
The series now shifts back to Steinbach on Tuesday night at 7pm for game three. The next game at Stride Place will be game four on Friday March 28. The series opened Friday night in Steinbach with the Pistons winning the opener 3-1.
This year's other three playoff series also began on the weekend. Niverville beat Winkler Sunday to tie that series at one a piece while Dauphin took down Waywayseecapo to go up 2-0. Neepawa and the Northern Manitoba Blizzard split their games in The Pas so that series is also tied at 1.