It was Salvation Army Teddy Bear toss night at Stride Place and Terriers fans didn't need to wait very long to throw their stuffies on the ice. Captain Chase Brakel scored his first of three on the night only 46 seconds into the game and the Terriers never looked back cruisng to a 6-1 victory.  Brakel's hat trick gives him 10 goals on the season.

Special teams were key as the Dogs went 2 for 3 on the power play while going a perfect 6 for 6 on the penalty kill. Mackenzie Dwyer scored one of those power play goals in the first period and the Terriers led 2-0 after 20 minutes of play. Dwyer also added an assist later in the game.

It was the second period when the Terriers really took off scoring 3 more goals in the first seven minutes to go up 5-0. Logan Mihalcin picked up his first of the season early in the frame and Lasse Petersen stood strong stopping all 19 Piston shots in the middle frame. In fact Petersen was only seconds away from getting his second straight shut out. The Pistons lone goal came with 24 seconds left on the clock after and unfortunate giveaway in the Terrier zone. Petersen ended up with 27 saves as the Terriers outshot the Pistons 32-28.

The Pistons only have 6 regulation losses all year and 4 of them have been at the hands of Portage. Head coach Blake Spiller was obviously happy with his teams effort and feels the Pistons bring out the best in his club. Spiller added scoring early was key and his team played with speed and confidence all night. Spiller has been looking for full 60 minute efforts and that's what he has been getting lately. His team has now won 5 straight and has points in their last 7 games. That streak now has the team in 4th place with 32 points. In fact only two points separates the top 4 teams. 

The Terriers could move into a tie for first if they win their next game. That one is Tuesday night in Winkler. The Flyers and OCN are tied for top spot with 34 points each. The Terriers also won Friday night in Dauphin 3-0. 

about 200 stuffies were thrown onto the ice filling 8 bins, all to be donated to the Salvation Army