It got a little closer than the Terriers would have liked but the Dogs held on for a big victory in game one of the Addison Division final.

Playing host to the Winnipeg Blues in the series opener, the hometown Terriers got on the board first. Brent Wold buried his 4th of the postseason just over three minutes in but the lead was short-lived. Just over three minutes later, a point shot from Channing Brescianni found it's way through, followed midway through the frame by a goal from Brock Vanderveen. The Blues held the Terriers to just five shots in the opening 20 minutes, looking dominant after one period.

The Dogs came out flying in the second, looking to erase the memory of a sluggish first. The pressure paid off late in the frame when Shaq Merasty and Tyler Larson picked up goals six seconds apart, making it a 3-2 Portage score going into the second intermission.


Blake Spiller tells the team the plan during a time-out.

The scoring started again early in the third when Dylan Butler notched his first of the playoffs less than a minute in. Just over two minutes later, Kajon McKay would convert on a give-and-go with Shaq Merasty, making it a 5-2 score in favour of the hometown Terriers. The Blues chipped away at the lead, getting late goals from Derek Gingera and Ben Sveinson to make it a one-goal game. The Terriers locked things down after that, holding on for the 5-4 win and the 1-0 series lead.


Kajon McKay scored the game-winner on a sweet passing play with Shaq Merasty.

Adam Iwan picked up the win in net, stopping 29 of 33 shots to improve his playoff record to 5-0.


Adam Iwan continued his strong play in the postseason, stopping 29 of 33 shots to earn the "W".

After the win, rookie forward Riley Hay talked about the importance of opening the series with a win on home ice.

"It means a lot," says the Poplar Point product. "We knew they were gonna come out skating hard and battling. We weathered the storm in the first period there and we came back and it's a good win for us in our own barn here."


The Terriers picked up a big win in front of a crowd of 1142 at the PCU Centre.

After struggling in the first period, the Terriers looked much more comfortable in the second and third. Forward Adam Restoule says they used the opening frame to learn a thing or two about how the Blues wanted to approach the series.

"We were just trying to get settled in and see how they were playing," says the bruising winger. "The second period we just took advantage of what we knew their weaknesses were and then just started putting pucks in the net and working hard."

The two teams lock horns on Sunday night for game two in the series. Puck drop is set for 7:30 pm at the MTS IcePlex in Headingley.