Three goals in the opening period propelled the Steinbach Pistons to an eventual 4-2 win over the rival Winkler Flyers on Tuesday night.

Steinbach got the scoring started when a point shot from newcomer Doug Johnson was tipped in by Boedey Vaeth for his 12th of the season. Troy Williams also had an assist on the first goal of the game.

Then after Steinbach went down a man, miscommunication by the Flyers resulted in a Brendan Martin breakaway. The Pistons’ leading goal scorer made no mistake, sliding the puck past Flyer starter Britt League, and it was 2-0 Pistons at the 8:23 mark. Easton Bennett picked up the lone helper on Martin’s 19th of the season.

The Flyers responded with a short-handed goal of their own, as Connor Beebe took a pass from Jayden McCarthy on a 2-on-1 rush and chipped it by Pistons starter Matt Lenz to give Winkler their first goal of the game with under 10 minutes to go in the opening period.

The Pistons responded less than a minute later when rookies Max Neil, Troy Beauchemin and David Queree teamed up to restore the Pistons two-goal lead when Neil netted his 6th goal of the season and the Pistons took a 3-1 lead into the second.

In the middle frame, Winkler clawed another step closer when Bordy Moffatt scored to make it 3-2 with under 5 to go in the period and the Flyers took the momentum into the third.

The time ran down to under a minute to play. With League pulled for the Winkler Flyers, Tyson McConnell would win a crucial draw and Troy Williams flipped it out of the zone. The puck would roll into the yawning cage, giving Williams his 4thgoal of the season from the captain with 39 seconds left.

Lenz got the victory finishing the game with 28 saves on the night including 10 in the final period with his team holding on to a one-goal lead.

Special teams played a role with both teams picking up a short-handed goal. Steinbach finished 0-2 on the power play and 2-2 on the penalty kill.

Halfdanson Debut

Newly acquired forward Trent Halfdanson made his Pistons debut, playing the right wing on a line with Jack Kilroy and Easton Bennett. Halfdanson, who was acquired by Steinbach from the Winkler Flyers last Friday, had a solid debut in blue and white.

Up Next

Friday night back at the TG Smith Center vs the Winnipeg Blues. The game will be on MIX 96 and SteinbachOnline.com