DAUPHIN, MB - The Dauphin Kings made it close late but couldn't squeeze out any points in a 6-3 loss to the Terriers in Portage Wednesday night.

In the opening period the Terriers would start things off with two goals in the first two minutes. Ethan Stewart (8) would stop the bleeding nine seconds after Portage made it 2-0. Later on the Kings would get their first Power Play and score on it. Gavin Haslam (7) with a shot from the high slot would make it 2-2. The momentum was short lived as the Terriers regained their lead just over a minute later. The scoring would stop there and Portage would take their 3-2 lead to the room after 20.

The second saw the Kings give up the period's only goal just over five minutes in. Dauphin did play well after the 4-2 goal for Portage but couldn't find the back of the net and looked to acquire more finish in the third.

In the final frame the Kings were the better team. Local product Sam Swanton would notch his first MJHL goal to make it a 4-3 contest with less than five minutes to play. Again, however, the momentum was short lived as the Terriers would score to put the game away just over 30 seconds later. That was followed by an empty netter. Dauphin out shot Portage 17-10 in the third.

Shots were 38-33 Portage at the end of the night. Justin Perreault took the loss in goal but made some good saves to keep his team in the contest.

Special Teams had Dauphin scoring their first goal on the Power Play in 2026. They went 1 for 3 and 3 for 3 on the Penalty Kill. Arguably their best night on Special Teams in the new year.

The Kings, now 20-12-1-0, return to Credit Union Place on Friday to welcome the Steinbach Pistons. After that Dauphin will not be back on home ice until Saturday January 24th for Ukrainian Night. Game time on Friday is slated for 7:00pm!

#ForTheCrown