Special teams were once again the downfall of the Portage Terriers on Wednesday night as they fell 4-2 to the Virden Oil Capitals. Portage went 0/5 on the power play while the Oil Capitals scored a power play and shorthanded goal.
The Terriers started the game strong, outshooting Virden 17-7 in the first period. Alyandro De Leon netted his first the season to open the scoring for the Terriers.
“It feels great to finally get the monkey off the back. That goal was a big confidence boost,” says De Leon.
“Today I think we competed throughout the game. Even though the score didn’t show, I think we are going in the right direction. We need to bear down on the power play.”
In the second period things started to fall apart for Portage. Naton Miller scored early in the frame off the rush. Braeden Lewis added a goal on the power play and then Trevor Hunt scored short handed late in the period to make it 3-1 Virden.
Gabriel Laflamme scored his fifth of the season early in the third period to draw within one. That’s as close as Portage would get. Brett Sabel added a late goal to make it 4-2 Oil Capitals.
“It’s tough. It’s one I think we should have won. We just move on to the next one and try and forget it,” says Terrier captain Tayem Gislason. “We have a lot of new guys, but we’ve had enough time. We need to bear down and put one in the net.”
Portage outshot Virden 39-25. The Dogs are back in action on Saturday night against the Niverville Nighthawks at Stride Place.
