It was a roller coaster game that saw a combined 11 goals scored and needed double overtime before the Steinbach Pistons ended the Swan Valley Stampeders with a thrilling 6-5 win on Wednesday night.

The Pistons got off to the start they wanted as they found the back of the net within the first five minutes. 

Bradley Schoonbaert cashed in on a scramble around the net for his second goal in as many games. Drew Worrad and Mark Taraschuk had the assists on the 1-0 goal.

Just 19 seconds later, Riese Gaber scored his first goal of the playoffs on a beauty set up by Will Koop, 2-0 Steinbach.

The Stampeders didn't go away and were able to cut the lead to 2-1 when Matt Osadick snapped a wrister home.

A part of the series that Steinbach has really wanted to work on was the power play. After going scoreless on the man advantage through the first three games, Austin Heidemann (3) scored to give Steinbach their two-goal lead back. Worrad and Darby Gula had the assists. 

The Pistons took a comfortable 3-1 lead into the first intermission.

The second period was all Swan Valley.

The Stamps needed to catch a break and they did when Matt Radomsky caught an edge in the crease and fell out of position allowing Dane Hirst to score, cutting the lead to 3-2.

Hirst notched his second of the period, tying the game just over five minutes later.

Swan wasn't done as Daniel Chartrand scored on a 3 on 1 rush only 22 seconds after Hirst tied the game. The Stampeders grabbed their first lead of the series 4-3.

The Pistons had a chance to tie it with a two-man advantage but were unable to capitalize. To make matters worse, while still on a 5 on 4 power play, the Stamps forced a turnover on the blueline and Josh Tripp was sent in all alone and he scored with only 24 seconds left in the second period.

Momentum was on the side of the hometown Stamps after 4 straight goals to take a 5-3 lead into the second intermission.

In the third, Steinbach searched and waited for their opportunity to get back into the game. 

That chance came on the power play when Daniel McKitrick slapped home his second goal in as many games to get the Pistons one step closer, down 5-4. Koop and Taraschuk had the assists as both players picked up their second helpers of the game. 

With time running out, the Pistons pushed for the equalizer. Jack Johnson went in hard on the forecheck and forced a turnover by the Stamps. Johnson was able to control the puck and drive into the slot but just couldn't get a shot away. The Stamps cleared the puck to the blueline, but Taraschuk kept it in and wristed a shot towards the net, Johnson was in perfect position and deflected it off the post and in to tie the game 5-5 with only 2:11 remaining.

It may have been a rough game for Radomsky to that point, but the Winnipeg native saved his biggest and best saves for when it mattered the most.

In the closing seconds of the third, with the game all knotted up and Steinbach seemingly in control of the momentum, the Stampeders forward Trevor Mann broke into the offensive zone, drove wide around the Pistons defender and had a clear lane on Radomsky who came out, challenged the shot and turned away the veteran forward with his biggest save of regulation.

 It was deadlocked 5-5 and needed overtime.

The overtime format in the MJHL is after the third period comes to an end, there's a 2-minute break followed by a 10 minute 5 on 5 overtime. If it's still tied, the teams will have a full intermission followed by a full 20 minute overtime period 5 on 5. It will be 20 minute periods with a flood between the rest of the way until a winner is decided.

In the first overtime, the Stamps had a chance to end it early but Radomsky absolutely robbed a Stamps forward with a beautiful glove save. It was the biggest and best save Radomsky would make in the overtime period, giving his team a chance.

Neither team scored so after an intermission break, both teams headed back out, Steinbach looking to close to series while Swan Valley looked to just play another day.

The Pistons found another gear in the second overtime and had several chances with Worrad, Schoonbaert, Bennett and Tatro all pushing hard to end the game and the series.

Near the midway point of the second overtime, the play was in the Pistons zone. Swan went to move the puck to the blueline but the defender bobbled it and that's when Mark Taraschuk struck.

Taraschuk was able to poke the puck free and was off to the races.

The 20-year-old defender was able to fight off the Stampeders checker and move in all alone on a breakaway where he made no mistake and scored his second goal of the playoffs and perhaps the biggest goal to date in his hockey career sealing the series sweep with a thrilling 6-5 win in double overtime.

Coming off being named the MJHL's Defenceman of the Month, Taraschuk has continued to be white hot and has collected 7 points in just 4 games, 6 of which came in the final two games of the series.

Radomsky battled hard, especially in the third and in the overtimes and finished with a gutsy 39 saves on the night.

The power play was good when it needed to be going 2 for 4 while the penalty kill again was fantastic finishing 5 for 5.

Steinbach wins the opening round series 4-0 and will now wait to see who they play in round 2 which is expected to start in Steinbach on Friday, March 23rd.

Coaches Notes

In a back and forth game that saw many emotional swings, coach Paul Dyck noted that his team was mentally even-keeled, especially heading into the second intermission down by a pair of goals. "The guys were talking about it, what they needed to do. They knew it wasn't going to be easy but the belief was there that we could come back. It took everybody tonight and we were able to come back and get a character win."

For Dyck, he has the utmost respect for Taraschuk and heaped praise on his overtime hero. "He's the definition of a professional," Dyck said after the game. "He comes to work every day, does his job, he's vocal when he needs to be as well. Whether it's on the ice or in the locker room, his voice carries weight. It's great to see him really come into his own at the perfect time. He's been playing great hockey."

There's always talk about compete levels and it's two-fold for goalies, it's battling for loose pucks in the crease but it's also between the ears and after a tough period, Dyck talked about his starter Matt Radomsky. "He was a warrior. A few plays he'd like to forget but not all on him, there's a few as a team we'd like to forget but he really stepped up. After that second period, we didn't have to say anything, we let him do his thing to get back into it. The guys were behind him and continued to believe in him and he answered with some huge saves down the stretch."

As the custom, the teams exchanged handshakes after the game. Dyck notes that Swan Valley is headed in the right direction. "They play hard, they play fast. I think they have a lot of good things going on. They had a great captain this year in Keaton Jameson, he plays the game hard and the right way. He's been a good player in this league for a while. There headed in the right direction both on and off the ice here in Swan Valley."

Up Next

Rest. The Pistons will take some time to rest some bumps and bruises as a few players are dealing with some nagging injuries. As the other 3 MJHL playoff series continues on, we'll have to wait and see who moves on. Steinbach will play the lowest seeded team that makes it to round 2. 

3 Stars

3rd - Josh Tripp - Swan Valley

2nd - Daniel Chartrand - Swan Valley

1st - Mark Taraschuk - Steinbach