Portage Terriers

The Portage Terriers picked up their 6th win in a row on Sunday night, beating the Winnipeg Freeze 4-2. It was a tale of two teams having completely different seasons. Portage improved to 26-6-1-1, two points out of first, while the Freeze lost their 26th in a row and are last in the MJHL with a record of 2-31-2.

The Manitoba Junior Hockey League's trade deadline took place on Monday, and the Portage Terriers brought in two forwards before finalizing their roster. 

Brock MacDonald and Mike Stubbs will be playing in their third game as a Terrier tonight in Winnipeg. Stubbs played a full season in the OHL last year but was very happy to hear he was going to land in Portage.

The Portage Terriers remain undefeated in 2023. The Dogs picked up their fifth consecutive victory tonight against the Neepawa Titans, by a score of 4-3.

The Terriers opened the scoring on the power-play early in the first period. Defenceman Brandon McCartney found the back of the net for the fourth time this season, with Austin McLean given credit for the assist.

Past the halfway point in the first, Kaden Kohle brought the puck into the offensive zone along the wing. He ripped a sharp-angle shot on the short side and beat Mason Lobreau to bring the lead up to 2-0.

The Portage Terriers have bolstered their lineup, not only by making a few trades, but also by having one of their more prominent players return to action. Forward Daniel Siso played his first game since November 22 on Wednesday night against the Virden Oil Capitals.

The 19-year-old led the Terriers in goals last year and was second in points. Siso is currently averaging over a point per game when he's been on the ice this season. He says it was great to finally be back.

The Portage Terriers continue to roll in 2023. The Dogs defeated the Virden Oil Capitals 5-2 on home ice tonight to improve their win streak to four games.

The Terriers struck first, just past the midway point of the first period. Noah Wagner took a sharp-angle shot that was stopped but the rebound went right to the slot for Kaden Kohle, who was absolutely robbed by a regrouping Eric Reid. The Oil Capitals tried to clear and give Reid a moment to recover as he had lost his stick but Parker Scherr kept the puck in the zone and fired the puck into the back of the net. 1-0 Portage.

The Manitoba Junior Hockey League announced each team's RBC Community Ambassador, and the Portage Terriers saw a local recognized for his contributions. Defenceman Kian Calder is one of the 13 players honoured for their efforts in giving back to the community.

"I wasn't expecting it at all. An award like that always makes you feel good about yourself but there are a lot of guys who are deserving of it on our team," Calder explains. "(my teammates) helped me win the award, for sure."

Today is the last opportunity for Manitoba Junior Hockey League teams to shore up their rosters ahead of the playoffs. The Portage Terriers have made a set of three different moves in the past few days and have until 5 p.m. to continue to make changes.

The Portage Terriers are proving they're a force to be reckoned with. The Dogs triumphed over the MJHL's top-seeded Steinbach Pistons 3-2 in a game that had the Terriers' backs against the wall.

Near the midway mark of the first period, Bailey Monteith kicked his pad out at the edge of his crease to knock the puck to the corner before Steinbach could pounce on it. A Piston was racing toward the puck simultaneously and was hooked by Tayem Gislason, leading to a power-play for Steinbach.

The second half of the season is about to begin for the Portage Terriers but tonight's contest marks a special milestone for one veteran defenceman. Matt McLeod will be taking part in his 150th MJHL game tonight against the Steinbach Pistons, and he says he wasn't even aware of that achievement.

"I don't really keep track of that but it's cool. It's definitely an accomplishment for myself."

A Portage Terrier has been selected as one of the MJHL's top stars of the week.

Bailey Monteith was chosen alongside Josh Paulhus (Niverville) and Mike Svenson (Winkler) to be the Original 16 Stars of the Week.

The Dog's goalie was selected largely due to his performance on December 21st when the Terriers took down the Winkler Flyers, 3-1. Monteith stopped 25 of the 26 shots sent his way.

Monteith is currently second in wins in the MJHL with 11.