The Portage Terriers have their first taste of competition tomorrow night.

The Dogs will be taking on the Virden Oil Capitals to open the preseason on home ice. The Terriers hosted their training camp this past weekend which saw the team back on the ice together for the first time in over ten months. Defenceman Kian Calder describes the satisfaction he got from being alongside all his teammates once again.

“It’s great. I love having the fellas around. It was a slow summer for me, I was working a lot but now that the guys are back in town and there’s stuff to do together it has been great,” says Calder. “We have a good group of guys here and things should go well.”

Calder says it was a very competitive camp and notes everyone played well throughout. He adds, after getting some time on the ice together, he is even more confident in the team’s ability to make a playoff run. Calder says he’s extremely eager to get a full season under his belt.

“I’m really excited as we didn’t get to experience a full season last year. I’ve been watching the Terriers for my entire life and I’m finally ready to hop into some games and go for a run at a championship,” says Calder. “I remember when I was a kid, I loved seeing the Terriers in the playoffs. So, I’m hoping that’s something we get to experience this year, that atmosphere will be great.”

Portage head coach and general manager Blake Spiller says the entire locker room came in extra prepared after the extended offseason. He says they still have some cuts to make ahead of the regular season but he says the team looks promising.

“We liked what we saw from the new players we recruited and acquired, and our returning players came to camp in good shape,” says Spiller. “Right now, we have 30 players remaining, so we will continue to make decisions as the preseason moves along.”

The Terriers and Oil Capitals will meet in game number one of the preseason tomorrow (Tuesday, September 7) at Stride Place with puck drop set for 7:30