It's Terrier game day in Portage la Prairie. They host the Swan Valley Stampeders in a Manitoba Junior Hockey League match at Stride Place.

Portage went 6-3-2 through the month of February and have three games remaining in the regular season, and with a possible shot at fourth place, wins are as important as ever.

"The biggest thing we can do is make sure we're playing as good as we can be heading into playoffs," says Paul Harland, assistant coach of the Terriers. "We're probably not going to move up in the standings unless we run the table, and get some help. Which could happen, but we want to make sure we get healthy for the second season. We're also working on our systems so everyone is on the same page heading into playoffs. We've been playing pretty good the last few games so we want to carry that on."

"The goal is obviously to win these last three games," laughs assistant captain Chase Brakel. "Not just because we want the points, but because we want the momentum heading into playoffs. We learned that last year with the 20 game win streak heading into playoffs and how huge it was, and that's why we had so much momentum rolling in. So you don't want to be losing games at the end of the season when you should be winning them."

The Stampeders are clinging to the final playoff spot in eighth place with Neepawa closing in one point back. They managed to snag two wins against the Terriers in Swan Valley earlier this season, but they haven't faired so well in Portage la Prairie. Terrier forward Ty Enns knows the importance of their last three games.

"We're looking to get some momentum going our way, and hopefully end off the season with a few wins here," says Enns. "They're going to be coming out guns a blazing tonight. They want to get into a playoff spot here and we're going to do everything we can to not let them."

Swan Valley fired head coach Erik Petersen recently, adding to the club's desperation heading into playoffs. Darren Webster will be taking over the position in the interim.

The puck drops tonight at 7:30 at Stride Place. Tonight's game is also the Portage Terriers' rain-check night. Bring any unused Portage Terriers tickets from this season and you'll be granted access to tonight's game.

Note: This article was corrected from a previous version to explain Darren Webster is taking over the head coach position with Swan Valley.