The Portage Islanders look to increase their lead over the rest of the South Eastern Manitoba Hockey League today with a win over Stonewall.

Portage currently sits in first place with a perfect 3-0 record, while Stonewall sits at 0-2 in second last place. Defender Jeremy Brooks says their offensive strength has carried over from last season, and they've really improved in the defensive zone.

"That's definitely something that's been helping us, and something that we thought we were going to be lacking at the start of the year. So it's good to see that our defensive end has been really good this year."

Brooks says the Flyers are in the same position they were in last year, and they can't take them lightly tonight.

"It's a team that we've never seen before so we're not really sure what their guys are like, or how they play, or what types of systems they typically follow. It's going to be a bit of a learning curve at the start, but we just need to make sure we're coming out and matching their intensity."

The Islanders and Flyers go at 8 p.m. in Stonewall.