The Portage Islanders punched their ticket to the South Eastern Manitoba Hockey League Semi Final last night. They knocked off Winkler 6-1 in game three of their best-of-five series at Stride Place in Portage la Prairie.

"We didn't want to take Winkler lightly this series," says Islanders captain Anders Strome. "They always work hard and have a solid team so I was happy with the effort from the boys. It was nice to get it done in three games and hopefully get some rest here."

Chris Reykdal and Eric Delong both scored for the Islanders in the first. both were even strength goals in a fast-paced 20 minutes.

A couple of Tanners made it 4-0 for Portage in the second. Tanner Waldvogel scored first, Tanner Blight picked up the second. The Royals would score their only goal of the night with 1:40 to go in the middle frame.

Again, it was all Portage in the final 20 minutes. Landon Thomson found the back of the net to earn his first goal of the playoffs, Waldvogel scored his second late in the game to end the scoring.

Mitch Wiebe makes a big glove save on Winkler's Jared Unrau in the third period Feb. 19, 2017. (Photo by Aaron Wilgosh)

Goalie Mitch Wiebe allowed five goals in three games and says the team didn't give up much in their own zone.

"The guys played really well and we were in (Winkler's) end a lot more than they were in ours so I didn't have to do a whole lot which is pretty nice," laughs Wiebe. "We're pretty streaky but we're rolling right now, our scorers are scoring so I think we feeling pretty good out there."

"I'd say we had offence coming from a lot of different places which always helps," adds Strome. He says they'll have some time off before their next series to rest, and they'll try to get a few practices in as well.