The second round of the South Eastern Manitoba Hockey League Semi Final begins tonight for the Portage Islanders. They welcome the Carman Beavers for game one of their best-of-seven Semi Final series at Stride Place.

The Islanders swept the Winkler Royals in their opening best-of-five series with the final victory coming Sunday night in Portage. Carman needed four games to get past the Altona Maroons in theirs and wrapped up the series Tuesday night in Altona. Portage only managed one point against the Beavers this season, losing one game in overtime and two in regulation.

"They've definitely had our number this year," says Islander forward Eric Delong. "I think we'll see more of the same from them. They've got a pretty good offensive team, and they've got a few guys that are pretty elite so we'll have to be smart. We'll have to be strategic about how we attack their zone, and how we have our lineups, but if we do that we should be fine."

The Islanders have won their last eight games, with their last loss coming against the Beavers Jan. 19, 2017.

"We've been a streaky team all year and I feel we've hit our stride at a good time here," admits Delong. "I think the guys are feeling confident. We know Carman will be a better test for us than Winkler was but most guys are healthy now, and I think we're in a good spot."

Tonight's game starts at 7:30 at Stride Place in Portage.