The Terriers hoist the RBC Cup.
The MSSA celebrated their 60th Anniversary last night at their annual dinner celebrating Manitoba’s best athletes. The Portage Terriers were voted the Manitoba’s Team of the year for 2015.
On May 17th, 2015 the Terriers realized a goal when they won the RBC Cup on home ice in front of 2000+ fans. It was the first time in over 40 year that a team from Manitoba would earn the Cup.
I spoke with RBC Cup Champ and last year’s captain Tanner Jago – “It was quite the run we had over the course of the year with a great group of guys. It was definitely a team that we won’t forget and others will remember for a very long time. Blake ( Spiller ) obviously started structuring this team years ahead of the tournament and assembled it from top to bottom to succeed. Right from the beginning of the season we were a very tight knit group and carried that with us throughout the season. Ultimately we all had the common goal of the RBC Cup and we accomplished that by bringing the national championship back to Manitoba on home ice in front of the loud Terrier faithful crowd. All in all it was a pretty special year and when all is said and done and you look at the numbers it is pretty remarkable, but the real memories came from going to battle with those guys night in and night out. It was a brotherhood indeed and a title we can carry together for the rest of our lives.”
The numbers Jago refers to are pretty remarkable. The team finished the regular season at 53-3-4 and went on to sweep the playoffs in 12 straight games to earn the Turbull Cup.
GM and Coach Blake Spiller describes the award as an honor for entire organization. “To me this is an award for the staff, the players, board members and fans.”
With only 4 returning members from that powerhouse team, there is still a strong will to win in the dressing room. Veteran 20 year old Brock Weston talks about the expectation. “Everyone knows Portage’s history and there’s definitely an expectation to hold yourself to a higher standard and create/continue a tradition of excellence.”
This year’s team picked up where last year’s team left off and will be a contender in the race for the Turnbull.