After an early exit last season, the Terriers are ready to kick off round two against the Virden Oil Caps at Stride Place tomorrow night.
No stranger to post season play with one championship under his belt veteran forward and Terrier Captain Ty Barnstable says the boys are ready. “They’re a good team ( Virden ) and match up well with us. It should be a fun series.”
The Terriers came out on top in the regular season winning 4 of the 6 meetings and outscoring their opponents 32-24. 33% of Virden’s goals came on the powerplay.
“We need to stay out of the box and make sure we are playing 60 minutes every night. If we can win the special teams battles and slow down their transition game, we should be good.” After missing the first round due to injury, Barnstable will be back in the lineup tomorrow night.
The Terriers swept the 8th place Wolverines on their way to the semi finals while the Oil Caps bested the 5th place Steelers in 6.
Rookie all star forward Jay Buchholz is looking forward to the next series. “I feel confident playing Virden. They are a good team, but we have had some success playing them in the regular season. It’s only going to get harder from here, but I think if we stick to our game plan and come out hard from the start, we can be successful.”
Puck drop is set for 7:30pm at Stride Place. Get your tickets early at Stride Place reception to avoid line ups. The first 500 fans will receive clappers donated by Webber Printing and the Portage Terriers Ladies Auxiliary.