The Steinbach Pistons winning streak was pushed to three but it wasn't a walk in the park as they held on to defeat the OCN Blizzard 4-3 on Saturday at the TG Smith Centre.

The Pistons jumped out to an early lead when Jack Lenchyshyn scored his first career Manitoba Junior Hockey League goal to make it 1-0. Brady Tatro and Jack Johnson had the assists on the goal.

Less then two minutes later, Tyson McConnell picked up his 12th of the year from Drew Worrad and Braden Purtill. The power play goal pushed the lead to 2-0.

Purtill continued his hot streak in the second period when the captain netted his 20th of the year to make it a 3-0 game. Will Koop and Daniel McKitrick had the helpers.

The Blizzard battled back and caught a break when Anthony Keepers scored on the power play to cut the lead to 3-1. The goal was disputed as it appeared Keeper knocked it in with a glove but the goal stood.

In the third, on a 5 on 3 power play, a nice passing play was finished off by Darby Gula (9) as he rocketed it a shot top shelf to make it 4-1. The goal was under a bit of dispute as it appeared the net was knocked off before the puck went in. That wasn't the case and the Pistons were awarded the goal. Bradley Schoonbaert and Purtill had the assists.

OCN pushed back and scored two goals, including one on the power play to make it 4-3. 

Despite the Blizzard pushing for the equalizer but were turned away by Matt Radomsky. One of the best saves came when Radomsky tracked the puck over and took one right off the mask.

Steinbach held on and picked up a big win 4-3.

Radomsky finished the game with 21 saves. The power play was 2-9 while the penalty kill was 4-6.

Coaches Notes

Paul Dyck liked what this hard-fought game brought out in his team. "Pancakes are great but you got to learn how to win these close games. It was a playoff-type atmosphere. They're a good team but we answered. We bent but never broke."

One concern is the PK unit that allowed two goals and the Blizzard a chance to even up the game late. "There were some breakdowns," Dyck said post-game. "There were some structural issues that we'll need to clean up heading into the next two games. It's something we can work on. You're not going to be perfect every game but that's where we want to be."

Up Next

The MJHL Showcase starts on Monday but the Pistons won't play until 4:00 pm afternoon on Tuesday. It's considered a home game vs the Swan Valley Stampeders.

They also have another afternoon game on Wednesday against the Dauphin Kings. The puck drops at the MTS Iceplex at 3:00 pm.