The Portage Terriers couldn’t hang on to a lead Saturday night as they fell 4-3 in a shoutout to the Dauphin Kings. The Kings sweep the season series with the Terriers 4-0. They are the only team the Terriers haven’t beaten this year.
Portage started slowly on Friday night but came out firing on Saturday. Austin Peters banked a shot off of a Dauphin defender to open the scoring in the first two minutes. A few minutes later Bailey Monteith was caught playing the puck out of his net and Ethan Williment tapped the puck into an empty net to tie the game at one. Owen Wareham scored on a point shot late in the period on a power play to give Dauphin their first lead of the night. 2-1 Kings after 1.
Chances continued to come for the Terriers in the second. Ryan Botterill extended his goal streak to five games when he shot the puck off of a skate and in the net on the power play. Marko Belak then made some keys saves for Dauphin to keep it tied 2-2 after 2.
Early in the third period the Dogs took their second lead of the night when Kaden Kohle finished off a goal mouth scrambl. Once again Portage couldn’t hang as Myles Yearwood fired a shot that went off Monteith’s glove and in the net. 3-3 after 3.
Overtime solved nothing and the game went to a shootout. Dauphin’s first shooter was “AP” call up Havryil Simchuk from Kyiv, Ukraine. He made a nice move and beat the outstretched Terrier goalie. Botterill, Mike Stubbs, and Hayden Lacquette were all stopped by Belak giving the Kings the victory.
The Terriers once again outshot Dauphin 34-22. Both teams finished the night 1/3 on the power play. The single point moves Portage one point away from clinching first place. The Terriers have two game left in the regular season; Wednesday they play Niverville at Stride Place and then in Steinbach on Friday March 17.