Portage Terriers

The Portage Terriers gave everyone a reason to stay to the end in a tight affair against the Selkirk Steelers that went the distance, ending in a 4-3 shootout victory.

The first period had plenty of action in both ends. The Terriers thought they had scored the game's first goal when the ref pointed at the net, and Slade Stanick went through the handshake line first. However, the ref then waved the goal off for goalie interference, and play resumed with a faceoff in Selkirk territory.

Ukrainian Night will see the Selkirk Steelers come to town for the first game against Portage since the Christmas break.

Portage has won 3 of their last 5 games, their most recent game, a tight 2-1 loss at the hands of the Waywayseecappo Wolverines.

Selkirk has won 4 of their last 5, with a 4-1 loss to Steinbach in their most recent game.

The last time these two teams met, Nolan Nenow would tie the game at four with one second left in regulation. Rocco La Cara would score the winner in overtime to send the Terriers home with a single point.

The Portage Terriers are warming up for their annual Ukrainian Night on Friday when the Selkirk Steelers come to town. Cody Buhler, the Terriers' marketing director, explains what led the organization to do a Ukrainian Night in the beginning.

Despite scoring first, the Portage Terriers couldn’t fend off the Waywayseecappo Wolverines on Tuesday night, falling 2-1.

The teams traded chances in the first period with Portage scoring first. Nolan Nenow went end to end to score a nice goal under the glove of Wolverine goalie Kaiden Kirkwood. The Terriers’ power play had opportunities to increase their lead but they couldn’t bury the puck. They finished the night 0/4 with the man advantage.

The Portage Terriers held off a late push from the OCN Blizzard on Sunday night to win 3-2. The Terriers did it in style, wearing special jerseys bought by the Portage Professional Firefighters Local 1079 in support of Central Plains Cancer Services. Over $7,000 was raised for CPCS between the jersey auction and rainbow auction.

The Portage Terriers had 6 representative members at the annual MJHL-SJHL showcase on January 30th and 31st. The event was held at the Seven Oaks Sportsplex in Winnipeg, with 3 teams made of players from each league attending. 

The Terriers playing were Captain Tayem Gislason, Alternate Captains Slade Stanick and Parker Scherr, and first-year Terriers Nolan Nenow and Owen Witt. Gislason, Scherr, Stanick and Nenow all played, with Assistant Coach Robby Moar behind the bench with the Red 20U team, while Owen Witt played on the 18U team.

Every year, hockey players across Canada and the United States leave their hometowns to play hockey in different regions. The Portage Terriers often host a large percentage of their roster with billets in Portage and the surrounding area. Many of these players are from cities or towns a great distance from the central Manitoba region. Among those players this year is Parker Scherr, who was acquired from the Olds Grizzlys of the Alberta Junior Hockey League.

The Portage Terriers started slow but finished strong as they beat the Winnipeg Blues 7-3 on Sunday night.

Penalty trouble was the downfall of the Terriers in the first period. Every time Portage found the back of the net the Blues responded with a power play goal. Terrier captain Tayem Gislason was moved to forward for the game, but was on the blueline for the power play when he opened the scoring with his 9th of the season. Evan Gradt made a nice move off the wall and snapped a shot past Jayden Catellier seven minutes later.

A two goal lead wasn’t enough for the Portage Terriers to hold off the Neepawa Titans on Friday night as they fell 5-4 in a shootout.

The Portage Terriers got back in the win column Wednesday night, narrowly beating the Winkler Flyers 2-1 at Stride Place. The Terrier win ended the Flyers 8-game winstreak. A penalty would get the Terriers in trouble early in the first period, as Parker Scherr was assessed a minor for interference just under 4 minutes into the game. 

On the ensuing powerplay, Flyers forward Trent Penner opened the scoring. He found himself wide open on the doorstep, and tapped home his 20th goal of the season.