PORTAGE LA PRAIRIE, Man. – Justin Laforest made 26 saves and Brad Bowles had a goal and an assist as the host Portage Terriers held on to defeat the Melfort Mustangs 3-2 on Thursday. With the win, the Terriers secured first place heading into the semifinals at the RBC Cup.
Shawn Bowles and Landon Peel also scored for the Terriers (3-1-0-0), who jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first period. Zack Waldvogel picked up an assist on each of his club’s three goals.
Cole Hyrsky set up Travis Mayan in the second period to put the Mustangs (1-2-1-0) on the board and then added a goal of his own in the third period to make it a one-goal deficit.
Richard Palmer turned away 27-of-30 shots for Melfort, which will enter Canada’s men’s junior A hockey championship as the fourth seed.
READ MORE: Melfort Mustangs snag spot in the RBC Cup
Portage went 0 for 2 on the power play while the Mustangs converted once on six chances with the man advantage.
Earlier, Patrick Newell had two goals and two assists and Demico Hannoun tacked on three helpers as the Penticton Vees downed the Soo Thunderbirds 5-2 in round-robin play.
Steen Cooper added a goal and an assist for the Vees (3-1-0-0), who have won three straight games after dropping their tournament opener to Portage, while Dakota Conroy and Tyson Jost added the others.
Brett Jeffries struck twice for the Thunderbirds (0-4-0-0), who failed to earn a single point in preliminary-round action and will miss out on the semis.
Penticton’s Hunter Miska made 20 saves for the win. Mario Culina and Brian Kment split goaltending duties for the Soo. Culina stopped 20-of-23 shots in 30:49 of action while Kment kicked out 17-of-19 shots in 29:11.
The Vees went 3 for 6 on the power play while the Thunderbirds failed to score on three opportunities.
Penticton wrapped up preliminary-round action in second place while the Carleton Place Canadians (2-1-0-1) claimed the third seed.
Both semifinal games will go Saturday.
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