A pair of late first-period powerplay goals from the Terriers were enough to sink the Wolverines in game one of the MJHL quarter-finals on Friday night as the Terriers took game one, 4-1.
It was an eventful first period which saw the Wolverines and Terriers combine for five goals. Chase Brakel walked into the slot and ripped a shot past Isaac LaBelle to give the Terriers a 1-0 lead just 3:59 in.
No less than five minutes later, Portage would increase their lead to 2-0 when Orca Wiesblatt banged home a rebound past LaBelle.
Just past the midway mark of the first, the Wolverines would get on the board. Ryley Cardinals shot banked in off a stick in front and beat Ethan Peterson to cut the deficit to 2-1.
In a four-minute span late in the first period, Sam Huston would score a pair of powerplay goals to give the Terriers a 4-1 lead heading into the first intermission.
Despite the 4-1 score, Portage led Waywayseecappo by just 11-9 on the shot clock.
Although it was quiet on the scoresheet in the second, things started to heat up between the two clubs. Waywayseecappo would get their chance to cut into the Terriers lead with a 45-second 5-on-3 man advantage, but couldn’t convert.
It was more of the same through the first ten minutes of the third period as the score remained 4-1 for the Terriers.
Tempers would continue to flair in the late going of the period as a bit of frustration started to show from the Wolverines and the Terriers would skate away from Friday night’s matchup with a 4-1 win.
Portage held a 34-21 advantage on the shot clock while converting on two of five powerplay opportunities. The Wolverines went zero for three on their chances.
Now down 1-0 in the best of seven quarter-final series, Waywayseecappo will host the Terriers in game two on Sunday night at 7:30.