Portage Terriers

After making several trades over the last week, the Portage Terriers will be back in action against the Winnipeg Freeze. With several new faces on the squad, the hope is some of all of those players will make their debut this evening.

The Terriers enter the contest in third place by points in the MGEU East Division while the Freeze sit in last place overall. 

The Terriers recently snapped a three-game losing streak with a 5-0 victory over Swan Valley in their last match. Over the last 10 games, Portage has gone 6-2-1-1.

It was a busy day for Portage Terriers head coach and general manager Blake Spiller. The Terriers said good-bye to 5 players and brought 3 new ones in the process.

The Terriers started the day by trading defenseman Brett Magarrell to the Dauphin Kings along with two draft picks, a 3rd round and a 5th round in exchange for defenseman Aidan Brook and forward Rhett Perrin.

Spiller also sent  veteran forward Brenden Holba and defenseman Ryley Cyca to Waywayseecappo for Jesiah Bennett and future considerations.

The Portage Terriers opened the home schedule of their second half of the regular season.

The Terriers also honoured former Terrier Brady Grasdal with a pregame tribute by having his parents and billet family, along with recently re-acquired defenceman Ashton Fishley at center ice.

Terriers assistant captain Daniel Siso was a roommate of Grasdal's during his time with the Terriers. He scored the first goal, which also ended up being the game-winner. He spoke about scoring that goal, and honouring Grasdal with his celebration.

The new year started with a thud for the Portage Terriers who lost their first game of the 2024 4-1 Friday night to the Steinbach Pistons. Special teams were a big part of the night with the Pistons going 3/6 on the power play. 

The Portage Terriers hit the road for their first game after the Christmas break this evening. The Terriers lost a pair of games to end their schedule before the holidays, both in extra time.

The first loss came at the hands of the Selkirk Steelers 5-4 in overtime, when Rocco La Cara scored on a breakaway that gave goaltender Jayden Catellier little chance to stop.

The second was in Niverville, a shootout defeat that went 8 rounds. 

The Portage Terriers preparations for the second half of the season began Tuesday night as the team hit the ice for their first practice after the Christmas break.

A disappointing end to the first half of the season has the team motivated to achieve better results coming out of the holidays. They lost their last two games before Christmas in extra time.

Defenceman Parker Scherr gave us his insights on being home for the holidays.

The Portage Terriers and the MJHL are on a holiday break and for most players that means a fairly short trip home to have some time with their family and friends. For 19-year-old forward Owen Underhill, going home for Christmas has meant a 3150-kilometer drive to Renous, New Brunswick that Google Maps says takes about 34 hours.

Underhill left on the journey on Tuesday and is hoping to arrive on the East Coast sometime early this weekend. It's a road trip he has never made before.

The Portage Terriers head into the Christmas break on a sour note after a 2-1 shootout loss Wednesday night to the Niverville Nighthawks.

Offense was tough to come by throughout the night with both teams struggling to find quality chances. The Terriers looked tired after playing the second game in a row and league-leading 36th of the season.

Riding a four-game winning streak, the Terriers were hoping to head into the Christmas break with that number at 6. But it was not to be as the team lost 5-4 in overtime in Selkirk Tuesday night.

After a scoreless first period, the Terriers would build up a 3-0 lead in the first 8 minutes second frame but the Steelers would not go away. Thanks to a power-play goal with 20 seconds left in the period, it was 3-2 Terriers as the teams went into the dressing room.

The Portage Terriers and the rest of the hockey world along with family and friends are saddened today after news emerged yesterday about the sudden passing of Brady Grasdal.

Grasdal played 53 games over two seasons with the Terriers from 2020 to 2022 before heading to the Nipawin Hawks of the SJHL.

The Terriers released a statement today saying their thoughts and prayers were with the Grasdal family. The young player had made many connections in the community through work and hockey and his loss is being felt by many.