Pistons fall to powerhouse Terriers in MJHL finals

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 20/04/2016 (3379 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Portage Terriers defeated the Steinbach Pistons 5-1 Tuesday night in Portage to claim their second straight Manitoba Junior Hockey League title. The Terriers defeated the Pistons 4-1 in the best of seven series.

Portage also defeated the Pistons in the finals last season, winning four straight as they went on to win the RBC Cup national championship, which they hosted in Portage. Incredibly, the Terriers have been ranked the number one team in Canada for two years running and no doubt will be the odds on favourites to defend their national championship.

Down 3-0 in the series, when the Pistons spanked the Terriers 6-2 in game four Sunday in Steinbach, there was a glimmer of hope among the Pistons’ faithful, including a large number that made the trek to Portage for last night’s game at the PCU Centre. That win by the Pistons on Sunday snapped a 31-game winning streak for the Terriers and it was their first playoff loss in two years.

So, anyway you want to couch this, the Pistons, just plain and simple, lost to a better team, and there is no shame in that, as much as it stings for the players today. There were tears shed by the players after the game with the realization that this group is done, and that many of them will be gone next season.

The fact is, the Pistons have made it to the MJHL finals three of the last four years, and have won a championship along the way. They also finished second to the Terriers the past two years in the final regular season standings, and were a franchise best 45-10-12 this season and 84-24-12 and over the past two seasons while the Terriers were 105-9-6. In the end, you just have to tip your hat to what the Terriers were able to accomplish the last two seasons.

The Pistons gave it everything they had but fell just short. Sunday at home, the Pistons came out flying and took it to the Terriers for 60 minutes and it resulted in that 6-2 victory.

It was the reverse in Tuesday’s clinching game as the Terriers, still stinging from that rare defeat, wrestled control of the game from the outset, outshooting the Pistons 6-0 in the early going before taking a 1-0 lead on a goal by Brayden MacDonald with five minutes left in the period.

Portage went up 3-0 in the second as Chase Brakel and Adam Wowryk beat Roman Bengert three minutes apart. At 2-0 midway through the second the Pistons were still very much in this game, but the third goal essentially put this game out reach.

Brandon Stanley made it 4-0 Portage in the third before defenceman Tyler Anderson finally beat Nathan Park with four minutes remaining for Steinbach’s lone goal. Chase Brakel, with his second of the night added an empty netter, as the more than 1,700 fans at the beautiful PCU Centre, certainly the envy of every Piston fan, roared their approval.

The Terriers outshot the Pistons 33-21.

Veteran forward Dan Taillefer, who completes his five-year career playing the second most games in MJHL history, said following the game, “this is tough, I thought we played pretty well tonight, but you just have to give them credit, but I am proud of the way the guys played tonight and in this series.” Taillefer added, “I am proud to have been part of this organization for five years, winning a championship, but right now, it is very hard.”

The Portage Terriers now travel to Estevan where they will represent the MJHL at the Crescent Point Western Canada Cup as they attempt qualify for the RBC Cup next month at Lloydminster.