PORTAGE LA PRAIRIE, Man. – The Portage Terriers have won the 2015 RBC Cup, Canada’s 45th National Junior A Championship, with a 5-2 victory over the Carleton Place Canadians on Sunday night at the PCU Centre.

The national championship is the second for Portage, which was making its fifth all-time appearance at the tournament; the Terriers won the Centennial Cup in 1973. Portage is the third team from the Manitoba Junior Hockey League to be crowned national champions, joining the 1973 Terriers and 1974 Selkirk Steelers, and is the seventh host team to win the national title since the start of the five-team format in 1990.

Shawn Bowles led the offence with a goal and two assists for Portage, which is the first host to win the national championship since the Weyburn Red Wings in 2005. Grant Valiquette, Davis Ross, Jordyn Boyd and Brad Bowles had the other goals for the Terriers.

Portage led 1-0 after one period and 2-1 after two before scoring twice on the power play in the first nine minutes of the third period to add some insurance, and Shawn Bowles’ empty-net goal capped a dominant season by the Terriers, who finished 74-5-5 in the regular season, playoffs and RBC Cup.

Alex Robinson and Maxime St. Pierre had the goals for Carleton Place, which reached the final for the second straight season. The Canadians are the first team to lose back-to-back appearances in the championship game in national championship history.

The 2016 RBC Cup will be held in May 2016 in Lloydminster, Alta., with the Lloydminster Bobcats of the Alberta Junior Hockey League serving as the host team.

NOTE TO MEDIA: Esther Madziya, Hockey Canada’s coordinator of media relations, is on site in Portage la Prairie during the 2015 RBC Cup. For any interview requests, she can be contacted by email at [email protected] or by phone at (403) 519-5754.

For more information on the 2015 RBC Cup, visit www.hockeycanada.ca/rbccup, or follow the tournament via social media at www.facebook.com/rbccup and www.twitter.com/hc_rbccup.