Story courtesy portageonline.com
The Portage Terriers fought off some adversity Friday night in OCN as they defeated the Blizzard 4-3 in a shootout. They held off a Blizzard team that ended up scoring three unanswered goals.
The Terriers started off the game hot as Tyler Dodgson took a point shot, which was tipped by team captain Logan Calder, at the eight-minute mark in the first period and found its way across the red line. 1-0 Dogs.
Just past the midway point in the frame, Calder fired a shot low that was stopped by the far pad of Steven Bacovsky, however, Matt Wisener was there to put home the rebound, and give the Terriers a two-goal lead.
Portage brought the lead to three goals late in the first on the power-play. Jaden Pashe was able to find the back of the net in his first time playing back at Gordon Lathlin Memorial Centre, with Wisener and Daron Cyr picking up the helpers. Portage held a commanding 3-0 lead after 20 minutes, but that would not last.
Less than a minute into the second, Liam Stevens let in his first goal as a Terrier, with Dain Sardelli finding a way to jam the puck past him on a rebound chance. This trimmed the lead to two goals.
Right as a power-play expired for OCN, Brock MacDonald was sprung on a breakaway after the Blizzard blocked a shot from the point. The forward skated into the offensive zone and went low on the blocker side with his shot, cutting the lead down to 3-2.
With five minutes left in the second, Mike Hlady put the puck on net from a sharp angle, and it somehow squeaked past Stevens. The Blizzard were able to score three goals in less than 15 minutes of play in the second frame, which tied the game 3-3.
Despite having a power-play chance with less than two and a half minutes left to play in regulation, the Terriers were still unable to score, which brought the game to overtime. The extra five minutes solved nothing and this led us to a shootout.
The former member of the Blizzard started the shootout on the right note as Pashe scored but was immediately matched by Sardelli. Both goaltenders stood tall on the next two shots, bringing on the sudden-death portion of the shootout. The Terriers began with Daniel Siso, who found the back of the net and put all the pressure on MacDonald. The Charlottetown, PE product went glove side but was robbed by Stevens, giving the goalie a win in his first game with the Terriers.
The Terriers are now just four points back of the final playoff spot in the East Division. They will be looking to pick up another win Saturday night in OCN as they have a rematch with the Blizzard at 7:00 pm.
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