PORTAGE, Sept. 21, 2025 – A fun atmosphere around Stride Place for the home opener wasn’t enough to propel the Portage Terriers to victory as they fell 5-3 to the Neepawa Titans.
The afternoon started off with a barbecue in front of Stride Place, with some menu items selling out. Cody Buhler, the team’s Marketing Director, says it was great to see so many folks take part in the events of the day.
“We wish we could’ve had better on-ice success, but I think the fans had a lot of fun with some of our new initiatives. We had a new raffle for a game worn jersey, and the Mary Brown’s chicken dance giveaway was great for the crowd.”
Owen Witt got the game’s scoring underway, with a seeing-eye shot that went into the top corner. 1-0 Portage after the first period.
A couple of unfortunate bounces in the second frame would result in multiple goals ending up in Portage’s net, with a score of 3-1 after 40 minutes in favour of Neepawa.
Rhett Platt and Trevor Hill would score goals in the first half of the third period, but a couple more bad bounces resulted in two more goals, including an empty-netter, to seal the game, 5-3 for Neepawa. Donovan Bodnar stopped 29 of 33 shots in his first start as a Terrier.
The Dogs return to game action on Friday, September 26, with a home matchup against the rival Steinbach Pistons.
