The Portage Islanders are on to round two of the South Eastern Manitoba Hockey League playoffs. The Islanders finished a three-game sweep of their best-of-five quarterfinal series with Winkler, coming away with a 7-2 victory over the Royals Wednesday night at Stride Place. 

Portage entered the second period with a 2-0 lead, and while they were outscored 2-1 in that middle frame, the Islanders took care of business in the final 20 minutes.

Forward Brody Moffatt finished the game with two goals and an assist. He talks about how nice it is to be in the semi-finals.

"It's huge. Going back to last year, we did have some struggles (losing in the first round). So, to turn the page on that and get a sweep here in the first round is awesome. I'm looking forward to the next one."

Moffatt adds if they stick to the basics, they'll have no problem keeping the wins coming.

"We just have to keep things simple," Moffatt explains. "I know we say it a lot but that's all the game of hockey is. We'll just stick to our game."

Team captain Jens Meilleur also had a three-point night in his first game of the playoffs. In the regular season, Meilleur was fourth in the league in points with 35 points, which was good enough to earn him his second consecutive MVP Award.

"I don't know how often it gets handed out back to back but it's always nice to get recognized," Meilleur continues. "You come, you just try and have fun, but if you put the work in, good things can happen."

Islanders goaltender Steve Christie was also honoured with the Goaltender of the Year award.

The squad was very happy after the win but they know the work is not done there. The Warren Mercs joined Portage in the semifinals thanks to a three-game sweep of the Notre Dame Hawks. The Morden Bombers have a 1-0 series lead on the Ile des Chenes Northstars and the Ste. Anne Aces lead the Red River Wild two games to one in their quarterfinal. 

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