It was a good defensive battle that turned into a flurry of a finish, as Troy Williams tied the game with 21 seconds left and then Tanner Mole potted home the winner with 1:21 left in overtime as the Pistons won their seventh straight game and third straight extra time game with a 3-2 win over the Selkirk Steelers.
The win also propelled the Pistons back into second place in the MJHL standings, one point ahead of the Swan Valley Stampeders. Matt Radomsky made 27 saves in the win, while Steelers goalie Levi Mitchell stopped 25 of 28 Steinbach shots in a loss.
The Pistons looked to have gotten off to a much-needed quick start, as a centering pass deflected off of Caleb Paisley’s skate and in. But after a conference by the referees, the goal was reversed and Paisley was sent to the penalty box for interference.
The Steelers took advantage of their good fortune, as Noah Basarab scored his 26th goal of the season at the 5:46 mark to give them a 1-0 lead.
Max Neill quickly tied the game up at 1, as he deflected a Declan Graham shot past Mitchell for his 8th of the season at 9:17.
Selkirk took the lead back about halfway through the second period, as defenceman Colby Jaquet jumped in from the blue line and ripped a wrister past the blocking arm of Radomsky to make it 2-1.
The Steelers did a solid job of locking down the Pistons the rest of the hockey game. But the comeback kids found a way to tie it up again, as Williams’ wrister from the left point found its way through heavy traffic to beat Mitchell and knot things up at 2 with 21 seconds left.
Graham picked up his second assist of the game, and Kyle Bettens had the bonus apple on Williams’ 8th of the season to send the game into extra time for a third straight contest.
Through a neutral OT, the Pistons got the best look at the end as Bettens found Williams all alone. His short side wrister was stopped, but the Dryden native never stopped working as he picked up the puck and muscled his way to the front of the net. Mitchell knocked the puck right off his stick, and the loose disc found Tanner Mole’s tape. The Winnipeg native made no mistake as his 20th goal of the season gave Steinbach its third consecutive overtime/shootout victory.
SPECIAL TEAMS
The Pistons were 0 for 3 on the power play, while the Steelers went 1 for 3 on their man advantages.
UP NEXT: The Pistons will be on the road this weekend in Dauphin on Friday and Saturday against the Kings. Both those games are on the radio at MIX 96 with Dave Anthony, or catch the game live on HockeyTV.