Gino Lucia scored the Flyers lone goal on Wednesday night in a 6-1 loss to the Terriers in Portage. It was a game filled with power-play opportunities for both clubs as the Terriers came out ahead in the special teams battle.

The same two teams had met just three nights before in Winkler which saw the Terriers edge the Flyers 5-4 in overtime in a very well played game for both clubs.

The Terriers got the early jump on the Flyers taking a 1-0 lead on the power-play before the game was three minutes old. Portage caught the Flyers flat footed on the very next shift and doubled their lead to 2-0. Just minutes later, the Terriers moved in front 3-0 with another power-play goal and the Flyers had dug themselves a hole that they were unable to climb out of.

Winkler played much better in the second half of the period and were rewarded for it with a goal. With just under five minutes left before intermission, Collin Caulfield spotted Gino Lucia up near the Terriers line and the St. Cloud native raced into the attacking zone and wired a wrist shot into the far side of the net to cut Portage’s lead to 3-1. Griffin Leonard also assisted on Lucia’s first goal in his second stint with the Orange and Black.

The Flyers were the better of the two teams in the second and started to carry the play thanks to a number of chances on the power-play. However, the Terriers would make the Flyers pay for their lack of special teams success by scoring again late in the period to take a three goal lead into the third.

Portage would put the game away in the final five minutes of regulation with two more goals and would skate away with a 6-1 win.

Britt League took the loss between the pipes for the Flyers making 20 saves. The Terriers outshot the Flyers 26-18. Winkler went 0-for-7 on the power-play and 3-for-5 on the penalty-kill.

The Flyers will host the OCN Blizzard on Friday and Saturday night in their final two games before the Christmas Break. Both games start at 7:30pm at the Winkler Rec Complex and can be streamed live on www.hockeytv.com

Winkler Meats Three Stars

1st Star – F Scott Mickoski (Portage)

2nd Star – F Sheldin Howard (Portage)

3rd Star – F Reilly Funk (Portage)

GAME STATS