****GAME CANCELLED DUE TO WEATHER CONDITIONS, NO WORD ON MAKE-UP DATE YET.******

The Portage Islanders are in Carman tonight for a South Eastern Manitoba Hockey League game with the Beavers.

Portage (7-0) sits in first-place with 40 goals-for and only 16 goals-against, the lowest in the league. Defenceman Jeremy Brooks speaks to the team's defensive performance this season.

"It's been a big part of this year. Last year, that was something we kind of lacked, and this year we're relying on both of our goalies," Brooks says. "Connor Nichol played great Sunday, and Mitch Wiebe was unreal in Notre Dame Friday night. It's nice having them back there, they give us a lot of confidence moving forward."

Tonight will be the first time the Islanders and Carman meet since the Beavers eliminated Portage from the SEMHL semifinals in six games last March. The Beavers wound up winning the SEMHL title last season, and are off to a 5-3 start this year. Brooks says they can still play, and Portage can't take a night off if its plans on winning.

"They kind of had our number, they kicked us out of playoffs last year," he says. "And they're a team we can't take lightly. It's a win we're definitely going to want to get."

The Islanders and Beavers go at 8 p.m.