Portage came to play in the first owning the period with 14 shots, but were unable to score, including 3 powerplay opportunities. With the :31 seconds left in the first Tulik puts one past Aiken on a scramble in front for the 1-0 lead.
2:40 into the second, McIsaac scored against his old team on a nice dish from Jeremey Leipsic. Three minutes later Barnstable would give the Terriers their first lead of the game scoring on an Enns pass from the boards. The lead was short lived however as former Terrier Captain Adam Wowryk tied the game at 2 with a powerplay goal.
Just over halfway through the 3rd, Brock Aiken robbed Blues forward Ethan Sutherland to keep the game tied. Then Chase Brakel excited the crowd as he regained the lead for Portage potting a Leipsic pass with 5 to go in the third. Again Wowryk came up big for Winnipeg as he scored his second of the night just 40 seconds later to once again tie the game. Regulation and overtime would end in a 3-3 tie and the game headed to a shoot out.
The Terriers shot first with Brakel not able to find the back of the net while Blues forward Rhett Lough scored on their first attempt. Barnstable was up next for the dogs and hit the post while Aiken made a great save on Wowryk at the other end. Do or die for the Terriers McIsaac came up big to even the shootout at one. Another former Terrier Dexter Kuczek put the game away scoring top corner for the win.
“I thought we had some opportunities (in the first) where there were some loose pucks that we just maybe didn’t battle hard enough for,” says Terriers’ assistant coach Paul Harland. “It was kind of one of those back-and-forth games a little bit, and we didn’t seem to have as much jump as we did in Dauphin the other night. We got up 3-2 and we should’ve been able to close it out. We would’ve like to get the extra point here, it’s going to be a battle down the stretch and every point is important. I think if we’re skating and playing our game we have a chance to get two points against anyone. So if we can bring more energy on Wednesday I like our chances.”
Both teams are back at it on Wednesday in Portage, game time 7:30pm. It’s another Wild Wednesday at Stride Place, Bogo on walk up tickets, $3.25 beverages, $2.00 hot dogs and $1.00 fries. Come on out and bring a friend!