A slow start and an inability to keep the puck out of their net lead to a 6-5 Terrier loss Tuesday night in Virden. It was a back and forth affair with Portage tying the game on four separate occasions, but they couldn't get one late in the third period when it mattered most.

Virden came out of the gate on fire and scored in the first two minutes. Jayden Wojciechowki's point shot found it's way through traffic. Cody Thompson tied the game on a similar shot 19 seconds later. The deadlock was broken in mere moments as a floater from Justin Lee beat a screened Brock Aiken.The Terriers started to show some emotion in the second half of the frame and a scrum erupted when the buzzer sounded.

Portage had the edge in the second period. James McIsaac scored a nice breakaway goal set up by Jeremey Leipsic. The assist extended Leipsic's point streak to seven games in a row. Virden refused to give up any momentum and regained their lead less than two minutes later. Before the second was out, Ty Enns tucked a perfect shot under the cross bar to tie the game at three.

An exciting third period saw Virden come out on top. Landyn Cochrane batted a loose puck out of the air, and Wojciechowki scored his second of the night. The Terriers didn't give up. Jeremey Leipsic deflected a Thompson point shot off his foot and Chase Brakel had a Thompson blast bounce off his shin into the goal on the power play. As fast as the Terriers had tied the game at five, former Terrier Rylee Zimmer gave the Oil Capitals the edge by tipping a nice pass from Kirklan Lycar. Despite pulling their goalie with a minute left Portage wasn't able to send it to overtime. Aiken stopped 26 shots in his first loss of 2018.

The Terriers are now 0-4 this season against the Oil Capitals. They meet again Thursday January 18th in Virden. Portage plays two games this weekend; Friday in Portage against Dauphin and Saturday in Swan Valley.

For the complete box score CLICK HERE.

Brock Aiken makes a save