Story courtesy of River Foster (Portageonline.com)
It was utter dominance for the Portage Terriers tonight. The Dogs broke the Centennial Cup record for goals in a game as they demolished the Kam River Fighting Walleye 12-2.
The Terriers opened the scoring midway through the first. Bryden Kiesman deked around multiple defenders to create space at the side of the net. He circled the net and made a centering pass for Parker Scherr to tap in.
Kam River responded on the power-play as Josh Pufahl’s shot went through heavy traffic and beat Terrier goalie Bailey Monteith. Ryan Botterill put home his first of the game late in the period but Max Leduc came right back to tie the game up 2-2 after one.
The second period is when the Terriers started firing on all cylinders. Portage scored three goals in the first three minutes of the frame, with markers coming from Rory Neill, Matt Wisener, and Austin Peters. Botterill and Brandon McCartney added another goal each before seven minutes were gone in the second.
All of a sudden, the Terriers had a 7-2 lead. Austin McLean, Kian Calder, and Hayden Lacquette all scored within a two-and-a-half minute span to finish off an eight-goal period and make it 10-2.
Calder opened the third period with his second goal of the game, and Slade Stanick scored the last goal for the Terriers with 15 minutes left to play in the third period. Portage broke the tournament record for goals in a game in less than 35 minutes of game time.
“That’s pretty cool, actually. I did not know that,” says Ryan Botterill after finding out the Terriers etched themselves into the record books. “It’s really nice to get that but obviously, we want to continue on in this big tournament and get some more wins.”
Botterill scored both of his goals in this one alongside the Terriers’ new top power-play unit, which has zero defencemen on the ice. The Terriers had Mike Stubbs, Austin Peters, and Matt Wisener up front, with Botterill and Rory Neill at the point.
“We just started practice with that unit a couple of weeks ago, and it’s working really well,” Botterill continues. “We have some good chemistry, and the boys trust each other moving the puck.”
With this ginormous victory, the Terriers are one of only three teams to have a 2-0 record at this point in the tournament. Portage will be looking to stay undefeated when they return to the ice on Monday night to take on the Battlefords North Stars.
