The bears flew early in Portage last night as Layne Toder scored on the powerplay just before the two minute mark in the Annual Salvation Army Teddy Bear toss game.
“It was unbelievable to get a goal like that. It’s for a great cause and it was amazing to see that much support from the fans and the community.” – Layne Toder
The Terriers got off to a hot start with a second goal by McIsaac at 6:11 of the first. Former Terrier Josh Sielsky sniped on the powerplay for the Natives first goal at the 9:14 mark. The teams would trade powerplay markers as Enns buried on the perfect give and go from Sokoloski. Bliid would pot one more at 19:03 for a 4-2 Terrier lead after 20 minutes. Neepawa outshooting Portage 17-9.
The dogs struggled in the 2nd to get pucks to the net only counting 5 shots versus the Natives 16. Anderson scoring the lone goal of the frame to cut Portage’s lead to one.
Sokoloski scored early in the second on a beautiful pass from Calvin Bliid. Brakel adds to the lead with a marker of his own just over half way through the period for a 3 goal lead. Jared Roy was awarded a penalty shot after being hauled down on a breakway, but was unable to convert. McCammon was able to net one more for Neepawa, but Layne Toder would slam the door shut with an empty netter and his second of the night for a 7-4 final.
The Terriers next game is this Wednesday at the PCU 7:30pm where they play host for the first time this season to the Steinbach Pistons. Portage is looking forward to having some vets back in the line-up.
“It’s a good possibility that Thiessen and Thomson will be back, and Doyle will be back from his suspension too. If they’re able to play (Wednesday) that will be a huge boost to our back-end, the guys that have AP’d, and forwards that have played defense have done a great job for us down this stretch but it’ll be nice to have our vets back. They can help us get the puck out of our end, and guys are getting tired and worn out, so it’s nice to get some fresh bodies back in the line-up and when they’re 20-year-old’s that makes a big difference too.” – Assistant Coach Paul Harland