It was a pretty great weekend as the Steinbach Pistons defeated the OCN Blizzard in back to back shutouts, pushing their recent winning streak to three games.
Six And A Shutout
Matt Radomsky made 28 saves on his way to his first shutout of the season and Steinbach's offence exploded for 5 goals in the third en route to a 6-0 win.
After a relatively dull opening 20 minutes of play which saw neither team find the back of the net, Piston forward Boedey Vaeth scored his 4th of the year to finally get a team on the board. Brady Tatro had the lone assist.
For all that was lacking scoring wise in the first 30 minutes of the game, the final 20 minute period sure made up for it.
Tyson McConnell (7) got the scoring explosion started on a power play less than 90 seconds into the period with Tanner Mole and Jack Kilroy picking up the assists on the 2-0 marker.
Less than three minutes later, hardworking Aiden Wagner was rewarded when he scored his second of the year from David Queree and Troy Beauchemin, 3-0 Pistons.
McConnell added his second of the night and 8th of the year to push the lead to 4-0 from Brendan Westbrook and Marcel Berube.
David Queree scored his first career MJHL goal just over a minute later as the Richmond, BC native snapped off a perfect wrister to expand the lead to 5-0. Queree's first as a Piston was assisted by Wagner and Beauchemin.
The pair that started the scoring in the second period finished the scoring on the night as Vaeth notched his second of the game and fifth of the year again assisted by Tatro with exactly one minute remaining in the game.
The power play for Steinbach finished 1-3 while the penalty kill was a perfect 5-5.
Shots, Pancakes And Another Shutout
A much more entertaining and lopsided first period was exactly what Steinbach and their fans hoped for and got to start the game.
Despite no score, Steinbach controlled pretty much the entire first period and finished with 16 shots on goal.
In the second, the strong play continued as Steinbach dominated.
Brendan Martin got the scoring started with his first of two on the night as just after a penalty ended, Curtis Ireland went coast-to-coast before feeding a perfect pass to Martin for his 9th of the year. Tristan Culleton picked up the secondary assist.
While short-handed, forward Aiden Wagner pressured a Blizzard defender who panicked and places a perfect pass right on the stick of Easton Bennet who walked in and went glove side for his third of the year as Steinbach's lead increased to 2-0.
"It was a great fore-check by Wags," Bennett said after the game. "Gotta thank Declan Graham, he said to maybe try going glove side, so I did. I just kinda shot it, I don't really aim when I shoot so I was glad it went in." When asked if his eyes were open or closed, the 20-year-old responded, "one was open. I had to get a precise angle in there, ya know."
Steinbach would add to the lead when Martin connected with Tatro on a perfect pass and tip as Tatro collected his 9th of the year. Boedey Vaeth continues to rack up points as he had the secondary assist.
It seemed like Steinbach had the puck the entire second period and it was reflected in the shots as they finished 27-4 for the home side.
In the third, the Pistons pushed the pedal to the metal.
Martin notched his second goal of the night and third point overall as he scored his team-leading 10th of the year from Vaeth. It was Steinbach's second short-handed goal of the game.
Vaeth would cap off his three-point night with a beautiful wrister from the slot to make it 4-0. Troy Williams had the lone assist on Vaeth's 6th.
The young guns got into the scoring party as well when Max Neil picked off a pass in the offensive zone, made a move and then rocketed a wrister top shelf for his 2nd goal of the year. The unassisted goal made it 6-0.
With the game firmly in hand, there were only two questions left to answer.
One would be answered fairly quickly as Tanner Mole cashed in for the 6th time this year as he jammed in a loose puck from Tyson McConnell and Jack Kilroy to make it 7-0.
With that goal, fans and players will be enjoying pancakes courtesy of a promotion where when the Pistons score 7 or more goals at home.
The other question was answered at the end of the game as Lenz stopped all 19 shots fired his way for his first MJHL shutout.
Shots on goal were very much in Steinbach's favour as the final total was 61-19.
Steinbach's power play had great puck control but finished 0-6 while the penalty kill was 4-4 with a pair of short-handed goals sprinkled in.
With the win, Steinbach improved their record to 9-4-1 for 19pts, good for second place currently in the MJHL.
Coaches Notes:
Paul Dyck was very pleased with not just the results from over the weekend, but the way his team competed for a full 60 minutes in back to back games.
"We really started to dictate the pace, we were hungrier," Dyck said post-game. "Sometimes with these types of games, when you look at the score, there's the risk of developing bad habits but I don't think it was the case. I thought, for the most part, we kept our game simple and stuck to the game plan."
Another part of the game that had Dyck all smiles was the number of turnovers his team forced. "When you do the right things on the forecheck, you'll see results and the best part is we finished those chances off. There's no question we're starting to learn, starting to figure out our structure and our execution is getting better every week. Another big part is the balance of scoring, all four lines are chipping in."
When it came to the crease, Dyck again couldn't have been happier for both Radomsky and Lenz. "I thought Rads was dialled in yesterday and Lenzy, to get the shutout in his third game, I think his confidence has really been growing. The guys are really solid. It's a great luxury to have."
They Liked It, So They Put A Ring On It
Over the weekend, players from last years team, along with former assistant coach Joey Moggach and board members were presented with their championship rings.
Dyck commented on what it meant to have that moment with past and current players. "It brought back a lot of memories, it's very rewarding. It was a special year and we capped it off today by handing out hardware. To see the smiles on their faces, it's something they'll cherish forever. It's a lot of hard work that goes into a little bit of iron, stones and it's a keepsake they'll always have with them. What a weekend to hand out the championship rings here, 13-0 over the course of two games with a lot of guys we had last year back in to take part. It was awesome."
Up Next
Portage. Twice.
The Terriers come to town on Wednesday night before returning back to Portage for a date Saturday night at Stride Place.
The Saturday night contest will be on MIX 96 and SteinbachOnline.com with the pre-game show at 7:15 pm and puck drop 7:30 pm.
Tue, Apr 16, 7:00 PM
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