After successful wins in the first two games of their three-game homestand, the Steinbach Pistons looked to close it out with a perfect record Saturday night as they took on the Portage Terriers for the second time in four days, aiming to extend their winning streak to four games.
For the second consecutive contest, Steinbach opened the scoring. Rory Gilmour fired a shot from the point and Terriers netminder Ryan Velan kicked out a juicy rebound. Grady Hoffman attempted to backhand it on net but didn’t get all of it, and a Terrier accidentally knocked it through Velan’s legs as he tried to cover the puck. Hoffman, the Yorkton, Sask. native, was credited with his 15th of the season at 4:25.
Captain Sam Noad extended the lead to two at 15:57. Gilmour held the puck at the left point, went around a Terrier, and carried it down low along the side wall before sending a cross-ice pass to Noad, who was wide open backdoor and one-timed it past Velan for his 14th.
In the final seconds of the opening frame, Hoffman took a five-minute major for cross-checking, along with a game misconduct that ended his night. Steinbach needed a big kill to start the second period.
Steinbach held a 2-0 lead after 20 minutes, with both teams registering 16 shots.
The Pistons killed the five-minute major perfectly, not allowing Portage to set up on the man advantage.
At 10:37, Noad made it 3-0 with his second of the night. He rushed into the Terriers’ zone and fired a shot just inside the right circle that hit the far-left post, the back bar, and out, an unreal snipe for the captain.
Not long after, MJHL leading scorer Trevor Hill got Portage on the board at 12:22 with his league-leading 33rd of the season.
After two periods, Steinbach led 3-1 despite being outshot 26-22.
Drayden Uhrina made it interesting just a minute into the third, bringing Portage within one with his 13th of the campaign.
Ryan McDonald iced the game with an empty-net goal with 27 seconds remaining, making it 4-2 with his 15th.
Steinbach went to the power play with 18 seconds left, and that’s when the captain completed the hat trick. Jack Greenwell’s one-timer, set up by Connor Paronuzzi, was stopped by Velan, but the rebound kicked out to Noad, who buried it to complete the hat trick for his 16th of the year.
Steinbach held on to maintain a perfect record on their three-game homestand, defeating the Terriers for the second time in four days, 5-2. Chris Quizi was stellar once again, turning aside 38 shots as the Pistons improved to 35-8-2, still holding second place in the league and their division, with a 17-point gap over the third-place Terriers, who are now tied with the Winkler Flyers in points.
Steinbach now hits the road for a one-off in Neepawa on Wednesday as they look for their first win against the Titans at Yellowhead Centre this season. Puck drop is set for 7:30 p.m. CST, and the game will be available on FloHockey.
Article Written by Evan Waldner – Photo taken by Patrick Friesen
