Brad Bowles trying to put the Terriers on the board.
It was a cold and wet evening in Portage, but that didn’t stop fans from coming out to our Annual Teddy Bear Toss and the first game of the season between the 1st and 2nd place teams.
Last year’s Teddy Bear Toss saw Jordyn Boyd score in the first shift of the game. This year was well…different. In the 2nd minute of the 1st period, Ryan Sokoloski found himself with the puck and a wide open net. The red light came on and the horn sounded, but the puck did not cross the line, but that was all it took. Geno Romonow, trainer for the Terriers was the first to throw his stuffed bunny on the ice. “I heard the horn and let her go.” 700+ fans were quick to follow suit and within minutes the ice was littered with stuffies for the Salvation Army.
The Salvation Army had staff on hand and overall, there were roughly 350 bears collected. Salvation Army’s Major Brenda Coles was pleased with the outcome and notes that this will go a long way in their Christmas Hampers.
Play resumed.
The 1st period was a well-played 20 minutes by both teams. It wasn’t until the last 13 seconds that Wowryk would find the back of the net on Flegel’s left side. * This is when the Teddy Bears should have been tossed. The Terriers would go in the dressing room with a 1-0 lead.
Things looked good for the Terriers when Nick Henry would double their lead just 34 seconds in to the period with his 12th of the season, but the rest of the period would be all Flyers. Winkler would score 5 goals in the period to take a commanding lead as well as all the momentum in to the intermission.
Coach and GM Blake Spiller thought his team had a good 1st and 3rd period. “I thought we chased a few too many pucks in the 2nd and it cost us.”
The Terriers came out in the 3rd ready to play, but it was too little too late. Brad Bowles would get the team within 2 late in the period, but the Flyers would take home the 2 points for the win on our first meeting this season.
The Terriers still sit in 1st place with 40 points, the Flyers just 3 points back. The Terriers are on the road this Friday to Selkirk and then back home with the Steelers on Saturday. The Terriers Organization will be holding a Fundraiser for Braden Pettinger at Saturday’s game.