The Portage Terriers will take to the road tonight as they travel to Steinbach to face the Pistons for the fifth time in the past month. The Terriers have gone 1-3 against the Pistons so far this season and will look to improve that mark.

Head Coach Blake Spiller says while they have a young group, they are a hard-working team and they need to use that to get the victory.

"We just have to continue to work hard and work at the defensive part of our game," says Spiller. "For the most part I like that we're a young group that works hard, sprinkled with a couple vets. For the most part we work hard. We don't always do the right things or go the right way but if we keep working hard then sometimes we're going to be rewarded. That's something that we need to continue to do and learn as we go."

Team points leader Reilly Funk says they are up to the challenge of taking on Steinbach in their own home.

"That barn is always a tough place to play," says Funk. "We need to come in and play our game, work hard, then I know we can do it."

Tale of the Tape

Record
Portage Terriers 13-4-1
Steinbach Pistons 12-5-1

Special Teams
The Terriers powerplay continues to be a strong point in their game, they have been converting at a league-leading 27.5%. Their penalty kill still leaves something to be desired though. They are currently sitting with the eighth-best PK in the league. The Pistons are flip-flopped just a bit. Their penalty kill mark of 88.0% is the best in the league while their powerplay is ranked fifth in the league at 21.3%.

Team Leaders
Terriers - Reilly Funk 11G, 14A, 25 Pts.
Pistons - Brady Tatro 13G, 14A, 27 Pts.

Goaltenders
Terriers - Ethan Peterson .896 save percentage and 2.66 GAA.
Pistons - Matthew Radomsky .923 save percentage and 1.98 GAA.

This is a big one for Portage. They don't play Steinbach again until much later in the season so they will be looking to make a statement with a victory showing they can beat them on their own ice. Peterson has been a fantastic pickup for the Terriers and he provides a solid veteran presence between the pipes. Funk has been on an absolute tear as of late, he had six points in the Terrier's last outing against Selkirk, the puck seems to follow him around right now. Portage can pick up the win if the they bring their lunchboxes and play hard-working, digging deep hockey. The Pistons are a veteran heavy team that knows how to play the game but a real blue-collar game from the Terriers will be the difference between a win and a loss. Puck drop is at 7:30 in Steinbach.