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Terriers Shutout Virden

Story from www.portageonline.com

The Portage Terriers have locked-up first place in the MJHL with a 4-0 win over the visiting Virden Oil Capitals.

Terriers’ Brandon Stanley opened the flood gates early on with a tip-in after a heavy slapshot from Cody Haiskanen off the blue-line. Through the middle of the 1st a penalty went to Oil Caps’ defender Derek Cross for too many men which created another big momentum swing for the Terriers.

The young Portage rookie Nick Henry found the back of the net only a few moments into the powewrplay extending his point streak to 8 straight games. The Bowles twins got assists on the play extending their point streaks as well.

Moving into the 2nd the Terriers maintained control of puck possession early on giving no chances for the Oil Capitals to get an offensive push.

While the hometown team rallied through most of the middle frame it wasn’t until the 15:05 mark that Riley Thiessen managed to mark a third goal for the Dogs. Early into the 3rd period Thiessen notched another with a blast from the point to put the finishing touches on Virden and force the Terrier win.

Shots on net were 44-19, heavily in favour of the Portage Terriers. Stopping all of those shots for the club was netminder Nathan Park who now has his 7th shutout of the regular season.

The 20-year-old from Edmonton, Alberta says it’s nice to know they’ll have that home ice advantage through the playoffs, especially if they meet the Pistons in the post-season.

“With the win tonight we clinch first, since (Steinbach) lost. I think we are just have to make sure that we are tight in the neutral zone and good on forecheck and stuff and make sure we are prepped for playoffs. I think the key in our last five games is make sure we are sharp and not picking up any bad habits.”

The Oil Caps will return to the ice on Wednesday when they pay a visit to the Swan Valley Stampeders.