Down 3-0 to the Portage Terriers in the MJHL’s best-of-seven quarterfinal series, the Waywayseecappo Wolverines will fight for their playoff lives when the Terriers pay a visit to the Waywayseecappo Arena Complex on Friday night in game four.
The Run Down
After falling behind 5-1 in game three on Wednesday night, the Wolverines did make a comeback push and got within one goal of tying the game at 6-6. But, just three minutes after Jake Bestul scored to bring the Wolverines within one, Jay Buchholz scored for the Terriers on the powerplay to regain their two-goal lead.
Portage would add a late empty-netter and the Wolverines would fall 8-5 which sets the club up for a do-or-die scenario on Friday night in Waywayseecappo.
While all three games may not look close from the outside looking in, there has been a small margin of error for the Wolverines and the Terriers have certainly taken advantage of those mistakes.
Keys to the Game
Eliminating mistakes and cleaning up the defensive zone will prove to be a game changer for the Wolverines if they want to pull off a win in game four.
Special teams have been a big part of the Terriers success through three games in this series having scored five powerplay goals on 15 chances and two coming short-handed.
If the Wolverines want to extend this series, staying extremely disciplined will certainly help their chances.
If game two was any indication of how the Wolverines can play at home, it should make for another great game. The Wolverines will also have a large and loud crowd to feed off of on Friday night which should help inject some energy into the lineup.
News and Notes
Fans can expect a slightly different lineup in game four when the Wolverines meet the Terriers which could include one defenceman and a pair of wingers up front.
After getting yanked in game three for allowing five goals on 17 shots, Isaac LaBelle will return to the crease for the Wolverines.
Game Updates
You can watch tonights game on hockeytv.com or follow along on social media…
mjhl_Wolverines – Twitter
Wayway Wolverines – Facebook
Instagram – wolverines_mjhl