The Portage Terriers picked up their first win of the season Sunday night 2-1 in Virden. It was an overtime come from behind win in which the Terriers never led.
Similar to their game on Friday, Virden opened the scoring in the first period. Trevor Hunt fired a high point shot that tipped underneath a screened Chris Fines. It was the first MJHL start for Fines who locked down the Terrier goal for the rest of the game. The Oil Capitals outshot Portage in the first 15-12.
Momentum started to swing towards the Terriers in the second period. The Oil Capitals got into penalty trouble but Portage wasn’t able to take advantage of their three power plays. Midway through the frame Tyson McLean cut over the Virden blue line and dropped a pass for Peyton Gorski. With traffic driving to the net, Gorski fired his first of the season under the crossbar.
The third period was dead even with both goalies playing well. Some of the best chances came late during an extended 4 on 4. In overtime the extra space allowed for the speed of the game to take over. Virden hit a couple of posts but were unable to beat Fines. Peyton Gorski took the puck over the Virden blue line, and similar to their first goal of the night, he dropped a pass to Tyson McLean, who shot it from the high slot past an outstretched Kyle Kozma to win the game. It was McLean’s second goal of the season and second point of the night.
Fines finished the game with 54 saves for the first win of his career. Portage’s powerplay woes continued, finishing the night 0/5. They did a good job of staying out of the penalty box and finished 2/2 on the penalty kill. The Terriers now get set for their home opener against Virden on Friday night at Stride Place in Portage. Puck drop is set for 7:30 pm.
For the complete box score CLICK HERE.
