The Steinbach Pistons and the Blizzard split games 3 and 4 in The Pas meaning the second-round MJHL playoff series is now a best of 3 coming back to La Broquerie on Saturday.

Comeback Not Complete

In game 3, the Blizzard had leads of 2-0 and 3-1 before eventually coming away with a 4-2 win, grabbing a 2-1 series lead.

Steinbach started out the slower of the two teams as the Blizzard worked and pushed the pace. 

An early goal for the home side had the Roy H. Johnston arena rocking and things only got louder as the Blizzard cashed in on a power play to extend the lead to 2-0 in the opening period.

In the second, Steinbach found their legs and began to slowly take over.

Jamie Fuchs continued his strong playoffs as the 19-year-old scored to cut the lead to 2-1. Brandon Funk and Spencer Penner had the assists as the Pistons found some life and silenced the crowd.

Things didn't stay quiet for long as just a minute and a half later, the Blizzard scored to regain their 3-1 lead.

In the final period, Steinbach pushed shift after shift trying to get back into the game.

Noah Szabo wired a point shot through traffic that popped the water bottle off the net and brought Steinbach back to within a goal. For Szabo, it was his first of the playoffs with assists going to Brett Kaiser and Brayden Berg.

That's as close as Steinbach would get.

The Blizzard held on and sealed the win with an empty netter taking game 3 by a score of 4-2.

Cole Plowman finished the game with 31 saves. The Pistons power play went 0/1 while the penalty kill went 1/2.

Captain Chambers Clutch

Needing a win, Steinbach's 20-year-old captain Leo Chambers came up with a statement performance notching 2 goals and 2 assists, dragging his team to a 4-2 victory in game 4.

In the first period, Steinbach managed to get on the board. While on a power play, Chambers circled in the offensive zone, fired a pass from the corner across to the far point and the waiting stick of David Cote. Cote then whipped a backdoor pass to Kirk Mullen who tapped home his 5th of the playoffs putting the visitors up 1-0.

Cole Plowman was tested a couple times in the opening frame, but he stood tall and kept it 1-0 heading into intermission.

The Blizzard would get things back to even less than halfway through the second, but it was Steinbach's power play responding yet again.

Hunter Degelman battled his way to the front of the net and the 20-year-old fought and clawed for space in front. Chambers managed to find Connor Paronuzzi across the slot and while Paronuzzi was stopped, all of Degelman's hard work paid off as he found the rebound and buried his second of the postseason, putting the Pistons up 2-1.

After the power play did their job, it was up to the penalty kill to come up big and keep the lead in the third.

Steinbach's short-handed units worked incredibly hard, and Plowman was tested a number of times while short-handed which proved massive as right after killing off a penalty, Chambers tore out of the defensive zone after taking a pass from Brandon Funk who joined him on a two-on-one. Chambers kept the puck and fired a shot home for his third of the playoffs and a massive 3-1 marker for Steinbach.

Once again, the Blizzard refused to quit and after a brief scramble in front, managed to bring it back to a one goal game, 3-2.

With the Blizzard pushing, Plowman made his biggest and most important saves. The best chance coming from a hard point shot through traffic that was snagged out of the air by the goalie's glove.

Down by one, the Blizzard pulled the goalie for an extra attacker. 

As Steinbach defended, a puck was rimmed around the boards heading towards a Blizzard defender until Trey Sauder managed to get a stick on it and tip it out of the zone. The Blizzard tried to regroup but it was Chambers that cut it off and put the game away with his 4th of the post season and second of the night, making it a 4-2 game.

It wasn't Plowman's busiest night, but it was his biggest game to date making several key saves, finishing with 24 stops overall.

Steinbach's power play was 2/3 while the penalty kill was a rock solid 3/3.

Up Next

With the series tied 2-2, it's now a best of 3 heading back to La Broquerie on Saturday night for game 5. Game 6 is back in The Pas Monday evening.