The Portage Terriers were on the ice earlier today in Winnipeg as they were taking part in the MJHL Showcase. They were up against the Dauphin Kings.

In the first, both teams came out with a lot of energy and jump in their game. Big hits and some decent scoring chances punctuated the action. Reece Henry was spring on a partial breakaway but Dauphin netminder Ethan Slobodzian was up to the task. Portage held a narrow 11-8 shots advantage. The teams wrapped up the first 20 scoreless.

Joey Moffat battles for the puck. The second period saw goals come in bunches. Byron Fobair of the Kings broke the goose egg just under a minute into the frame when he chipped the puck past a sprawling Nathan Moore who got the start in net for the Dogs. It stayed that way until halfway through the period when Caelan McPhee took a pair of strides off the point and fired a wrister top corner on Slobodzian who was screened on the play. Two minutes later, Cole DeKoninck restored the Kings' lead. He came in off the rush, faked a shot, freezing Moore, then slid it past the Terrier netminder. Portage would tie the game when Braden Billaney corralled a loose puck in front of the Dauphin net and shoveled it past Slobodzian, just 14 seconds after Dauphin had regained the lead. On the next play, Billaney took a long lead pass, won the race to the puck but couldn't put it past Slobodzian. Again, the teams would end the period tied up.

In the third, the back and forth play would continue. Logan Calder gave Portage their first lead of the night when he jammed a loose puck through the legs of Slobodzian to make it 3-2. Not three minutes later, Eamonn Miller whipped a shot from the hash marks into an open cage after catching Moore out of position. It stayed that way until a minute and a half left in regulation. Orca Wiesblatt took the puck from the side boards, skated past the Kings' net and out-waited Slobodzian for the easy powerplay marker. Despite pulling their goalie, Dauphin could not produce the equalizer, giving the Dogs a 4-3 victory.

Terriers' Head Coach Blake Spiller says he feels the team got too heated and when they played with poise, they were able to take control.

"After the first period, I thought we were getting involved in stuff after the whistle," says Spiller. "That can happen when guys get frustrated but I thought we got our composure back after the first and played well after that."

Terrier Jay Buchholz says they got too involved with the intensity of the game.

"I think the first half of the game we really had our emotions under our skin," notes Buchholz. "Between the second and the third, we realized we needed to drop all the chirping and really come out as one."

The next action for the Dogs will be on Saturday when they welcome the Winnipeg Blues to Stride Place. Puck drop is set for 7:30 pm.