The Portage Islanders battled hard to a 7-4 win over the Warren Mercs in South Eastern Manitoba Hockey League action at the PCU Centre.

Prior to puck drop, an emotional tribute and a moment of silence were held in remembrance of Blaine Jarvis. Many of the players on the Islanders' roster were former teamates of Blaine's.

The Islanders found themselves in penalty trouble early in the 1st period and Warren took advantage. The Mercs scored the opening goal of the game on the powerplay, while Tyler Harland was in the penalty box for the Islanders. The Islanders would answer back with a powerplay goal of their own late in the period, scored by Tyler Harland. Landon Thomson and Anders Strome also scored late in the 1st to give the Islanders a 3-1 lead heading into the break.

In the 2nd, the scoring went back and forth, with the Islanders' Tanner Waldvogel scoring twice for Portage and Eric Delong adding a goal of his own to give Portage a 6-3 lead going into the 3rd.

Eric Delong tapped in his 2nd of the night just 1:35 into the 3rd to give Portage a 7-3 lead. Warren Would score late to make the game 7-4, but that was as close as they would get. Jesse Deckert Picked up the win in net for Portage.

Tyler Harland, who tallied a goal and an assist in the game, comments on the win.

"We're happy to get the win. All of these games are important now...I think there's 4 teams right there battling for the 2nd spot so it was nice to win that one. Hopefully we can win on Sunday and close the gap a little bit more."

The Islanders' next game is on Sunday against Carman at the PCU Centre.