The head coach for the Steinbach Pistons says the message from Paul Maurice was clear and he left them with numerous applicable points. 

Paul Dyck is reacting to the message the Winnipeg Jets Head Coach delivered at the Pistons Fire and Ice Banquet on Monday night. Dyck notes one of the things Maurice talked about was adversity and how to deal with it. He explains they had a really tough stretch in November, where the Pistons lost four straight games to two of their biggest rivals the Winkler Flyers and the Portage Terriers, but came out of it and managed it really well. Maurice offers a message to the players as they approach playoffs. 

"The hardest thing to do is keep the hammer down and keep sharp when you don’t have somebody really close chasing you because they are getting into the playoffs and when they do, the pressure will be real, the adversity that they face will be real and because they haven’t faced that, now they almost have to manufacture it with themselves. They have to push each other in practice and push each other in the games so that when they get into those intense moments, that they have the backbone and they’ve made that commitment to each other to fight through it."

Dyck says that was one thing they recently talked about as a team. He notes there will be calls during a game that you may not like or some bounces that won't go your way but adds it's how you respond to it.

"I think we’ve grown as a team in dealing with it and ‘how do you follow up those shifts? What do the next five to ten minutes look like for you?’ There are momentum shifts in the game, it’s ‘what do you do following those momentum shifts and how do you react to those?’ I think that’s what Paul (Maurice) was eluding to and I know that they happen. It can happen in the regular season as well."

One of the other messages Maurice stressed was to do your best but nothing more. Give your body the best fuel possible every day but nothing more. Strive for improvement every day but don't do more. He says it's a great game but don't sacrifice your family or your friendships, just do the best you can but nothing more. Dyck adds Maurice left them with words of wisdom that are not only applicable to hockey players but for everyone to take into their family life or into their business. 

The Pistons are back at it tonight as they host the Virden Oil Capitals, who are tied for second place with the Portage Terriers at 68 points. Both teams, along with Steinbach, are the first three teams to have clinched their spot in the MJHL playoffs. The Pistons will also play home games on Friday and Saturday versus the Neepawa Natives and the Dauphin Kings.