Portage Terriers

A tightly contested matchup between the Portage Terriers and the Northern Manitoba Blizzard went the Dogs' way by a score of 2-1 on Friday night.

Just before the halfway mark of the first period, Grant Dardis put a long shot through traffic on goal, and beat the Blizzard netminder. The goal would stand as the only one in the frame. 1-0 Portage after 20 minutes.

A miscue by the Terriers in the neutral zone gave Northern Manitoba a break, which Miguel Bouvier converted to tie the game at 1. The score would not change from there in the second period.

Down by two heading into the third period, the Portage Terriers came back to beat the Virden Oil Capitals 5-4 on Wednesday night at Stride Place.

Virden opened the scoring early in the first period when Terrier goalie Ryan Velan coughed up the puck behind the net and Marshall Light put it into the empty cage. Will McKay responded for Portage minutes later snapping a wrist shot past former Terrier goalie Gavin Renwick. Before the first was done Liam Goertzen blasted home a wrist shot on a two on one. 2-1 Oil Capitals after 1.

A rollercoaster game saw Portage clinch a spot in the MJHL playoffs this March, beating the Selkirk Steelers in a shootout, 4-3.

28 shots hit the goal in the first period, with Selkirk hammering several on net during a couple of power plays.

Cameron Bullinger slipped one home on a rebound, notching his 17th of the season.

Selkirk didn't take that lying down though, as they would add a pair of goals to start their first lead of the game.

A shortened bench due to illness didn't stop the Terriers from extending the win streak to six games with a 4-1 victory over the visiting Winnipeg Blues.

Caleb Lepitre would get Portage on the board with his tenth goal of the season. Jonah Marshall took a shot from outside the ringette line, and Lepitre would find the rebound sitting in front of the goal and slip it through the Winnipeg netminder. 1-0 Portage after the first period.

The Portage Terriers picked up their 5th win in a row on Saturday night beating the Swan Valley Stampeders 3-2 in a shootout.

The long bus trip to Swan River seemed to be a factor for the Terriers as they started the first period slowly. Riley Fequet was left alone in front of the net on the power play and he opened the scoring for the Stampeders. Swan Valley outshot the Terriers 11-3 in the first period.

The Portage Terriers wrapped up a perfect weekend against the Steinbach Pistons beating them 4-3 on Sunday night. It marks the fourth win in a row for the Terriers and fourth this season against the Pistons.

The game was a tight checking back and forth affair with much of the pressure coming from the Pistons. Mitchell Kathler faced 45 shots in the Terriers goal and was his team's best player.

The Portage Terriers survived an onslaught of penalties and pulled out a third consecutive victory against the Steinbach Pistons by a 5-3 score.

Late in the first period, a surprise cut to the front of the net resulted in a goal, as Dawson Madden got around the Steinbach defender and slipped a pass across the ice. Caleb Lepitre was at the post and tapped it in for his ninth of the season. 1-0 Portage after the first period.

The Terriers are back at Stride Place Friday night to kick off a home and home series over the weekend with the Steinbach Pistons. Once the game is over, Stride Place will be turned into a curling venue for the Viterra men's provincial curling championships in Portage next week.

Earlier in the week, eight Terriers and one of their coaches took part in the MJHL-SJHL showcase from January 27 to 29.

The Portage Terriers looked strong from start to finish on Sunday night in a 6-2 win against the Winnipeg Freeze.

It was a busy night for Winnipeg goalie Ben Chornomydz; in the opening period the Terriers outshot the Winnipeg Freeze 19-6. Decker Mujcin scored his team leading 17th of the season late in the first period to open the scoring.

A lot of kids growing up in Portage la Prairie dream of one day lacing up the skates with the Portage Terriers.

Thanks to the 7th Player program, many young players get to spend some time with the team at the rink.

Asher Guenther, a member of the U11 MacGregor Mustangs, got a chance to be the 7th Player on Wednesday, January 22, hanging out with Jonny Ballos on the bench. Afterward, he got to sit in the locker room with the team between warmup and the first period.

Guenther says it was a fun experience, and he'd love to do it again.