It wasn't an ideal start to a four-game homestand for the Portage Terriers.

Travis Roch, George King and Curtis Scales each scored twice, as the Opaskwayak Cree Nation (OCN) Blizzard showed no signs of fatigue playing for a third time in three nights, routing the Portage Terriers 10-2 Sunday evening at the PCU Centre in Portage la Prairie.

The Terriers lost back-to-back games for the first time this season, allowing 19 goals over that span.

“Different things have kind of gone the wrong way on us ... I thought we competed really hard in both nights that we lost,” Terriers head coach/GM Blake Spiller says. “But obviously some frustration sets in. We took a couple of dumb penalties in Winkler, and took a dumb one early tonight.”

“And when things aren't going your way it doesn't take much for things to go the other way in a hurry.”

Maverick Rafter, Brady Valiquette, Jeremy Dumont and Justin Nachbaur also tallied for the Blizzard, who moved to within a point of Portage for third-place in the Manitoba Junior Hockey League standings. Ty Enns and Ryan Sokoloski had the Terriers' goals.

The Blizzard scored twice in less than three minutes after puck drop to take a 2-0 lead. Rafter made it 1-0 with a power play goal just 1:49 in, then Scales beat Kurtis Chapman — who was making his Terriers debut after being acquired in a trade last week — just 48 seconds later to make it 2-0.

Then just past the midway mark of the first, Valiquette put OCN ahead 3-0, pouncing on a puck in the slot and whacking it past Chapman. Brock Aiken entered the game in relief, after Chapman allowed three goals on nine shots.

Enns got the home crowd into the game late in the first period, taking a cross-crease pass from Chase Brakel and quickly firing it past Emiliem Boily to cut the lead to 3-1. Just seconds later Enns had another opportunity and nearly scored his second, toe-dragging the puck after gaining the zone and firing a quick wrist-shot that beat Boily, but rang the post.

Early in the second period the Blizzard took a 4-1 lead, as King broke down the right-wing and, after beating a Terriers' defender wide, fired a shot that beat Aiken on the short-side, finding a hole between the glove and the goal post.

The Terriers then had a chance to get back into the game, getting 55 seconds of 5-on-3 power play time on the tail-end of a double minor taken by OCN's Victor Knaub. The Blizzard managed to kill it off and preserve their 4-1 lead.

Shortly after, Roch scored on the power play to make it 5-1. Then King netted his second of the game with just over four minutes to play in the second to make it 6-1.

After Sokoloski tallied to cut the lead to 6-2 just over five minutes into the third, the Blizzard responded with four unanswered, as Dumont, Roch, Scales and Nachbaur all found the net.

Boily made 19 saves in the win, while Chapman stopped six taking the loss. Aiken made 19 saves in relief. OCN outshot Portage 35-23 while going 3 for 5 on the power play; Portage finished 0 for 7.

STREAK STOPPER

Sunday's loss to the Blizzard marked the first time the Terriers have lost on home ice in 2016 — and nearly a full calendar year. Portage had won 27 straight games at the PCU Centre dating back to last season, with its last home loss coming on Nov. 18, 2015 to the Winkler Flyers.

BUMPS AND BRUISES

Terriers defenceman Jordan Thomson (lower-body) will likely be out of the lineup until around Christmas after suffering a knee injury in last Tuesday's game against Winkler ... Defenceman Cody Thompson (hip) did not dress Sunday and is listed as day-to-day ... Forward Ryan Mignault (upper-body) is day-to-day and could return Wednesday ... Defenceman Thomas Lenchyshyn left Sunday's game and his status is unknown.

UP NEXT

The Terriers (9-3-0) play their second of four straight home games Wednesday, when they welcome the Waywayseecappo Wolverines to the PCU Centre. Portage won 7-4 on Oct. 15 in the lone meeting between the two clubs this season.