Story Courtesy Portageonline
The Portage Terriers are returning to the city of possibilities undefeated. The Dogs captured a 3-1 victory in their season opener tonight in Selkirk, taking down the Steelers.
The Terriers had a plethora of chances in the first period but didn’t open the scoring until three minutes left in the frame. Austin Peters was the one to break the seal, as he received the puck in the slot off a rebound and made no mistake, beating the goaltender low on the glove side. 1-0 Terriers after 20 minutes of play. 20-year-old Noah Wagner picked up an assist on goal number one but took a hit in the corner in the second period and did not return. Head coach Blake Spiller says he will likely miss Sunday’s contest as well.
Late in the second, just as their power-play opportunity expired, a scramble occurred in front of the Steelers net. Daniel Siso was the one to get his stick on it, and his shot hit Austin McLean and found its way into the back of the net. This gave Portage the two-goal lead going into the final period.
Four minutes into the third, during 4-on-4 action, Selkirk trimmed the lead in half. Tyson Smith and Matthew Gerke played tic-tac-toe as they entered the zone. Terriers goalie Bailey Monteith made the initial stop but Smith was able to bat the puck out of the air and get the Steelers on the board.
With just under three minutes left to play, the Dogs were on the power-play. Portage’s own Ryan Botterill ripped a shot high glove side to beat Hunter Tarves and build the lead back up to two. Monteith was tested late as Selkirk had over a minute with two extra skaters to end the game, but thanks to some miraculous saves, the score remained 3-1 Terriers.
Portage and Selkirk will have a rematch on Sunday at Stride Place for the Terriers’ home opener. Puck drop for that contest is set for 6:30 pm.
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