The Portage Terriers lost a tight defensive battle last night 2-1 in Selkirk. The Steelers now lead the best of seven MJHL quarter-final 2-1.

Two mistakes for Portage in the first period cost them the game. Nathan Halvorsen stole an errant Terrier pass at the Portage blue line and walked in alone. He beat Terrier goalie Kurtis Chapman with a clean shot 5-hole. With less than a minute left in the first, Connor Barley would collect his own rebound off the rush and deposit it in the back of the net. The game had a physical tone to it as players became more accustomed to each other.

The Terriers poured on the pressure in the second period and would finally be rewarded. They outshot Selkirk 14-5. Josh Martin kept his three-game scoring streak alive when he hit a wide open Ty Enns in front of the net. Despite not getting a lot of power on the shot Enns buried on his opportunity.

This would be as close as Portage would get as the game tightened up. Portage received 2 power plays but weren't able to register many chances. The Dogs are now 0-11 with the man advantage. Line matching was a theme in the game. Every time the line of Chase Brakel, Jeremey Leipsic and Ryan Sokoloski hit the ice for the Terriers, Selkirk would counter with Ezra Hall, Liam Kroeker, and Nathan Halvorsen. The top line for Portage was essentially shut down. Chapman stopped 21 of 23 in the loss.

The Terriers now return home for a 7:30 pm matchup tonight at Stride Place. Game 4 will be broadcast on CFRY and Portageonline.com with the pregame show starting at 7:20 pm.

For the complete box score CLICK HERE.