The former Winnipeg Blues came back to haunt their old team Tuesday night at the TG Smith, as Codey Behun set up defenceman Dylan Cassie for the game-winning goal with 2.9 seconds left as the Steinbach Pistons beat the Blues 3-2 in exhibition play.
Steinbach is now 4-0 in the preseason, with the last three victories coming in come-from-behind fashion.
Matt Lenz played full 60 minutes, and picked up his first win with 26 saves on the night. Blues goalies Cooper Hatfield and Presley Lester split time in goal for Winnipeg, with Hatfield stopping all 26 shots he faced while Lester turned aside 11 of 14 shots.
The Pistons outshot Winnipeg 16-3 in the first period, but couldn’t beat Hatfield. The Blues would get the first two goals of the game in the second, as Mikol Sartor beat Lenz at the 7:11 mark for a 1-0 lead. Fellow returnee Brayden Foremen beat the Steinbach starter through the five-hole with 4:20 to go in the second to give Winnipeg a 2-0 lead.
Before the period was done, Steinbach cut the lead in half. Troy Beauchemin, making his preseason debut, found a streaking Rylan Bettens down the right wing. The elder Bettens walked in and beat Lester for his first of the preseason to make it 2-1 with 2:55 left in the middle frame.
David Queree tied the game up 3:47 into the third with a wrister that went underneath the arm of the Blues goalie. Lucas Fry and Tucker Hodgson picked up the assists on the Richmond, B.C. native’s 1st goal of the preseason.
The game would be even through the final frame but the turning point came with just under two minutes remaing, when a Blues forward was penalized for a double-minor butt-ending penalty. This put the Pistons on the power play for the remainder of regulation, and the former Winnipeg teammates would finish the game off for their new club.
Behun dished the puck Cassie, who stepped around a forward and wired a shot that Lester stopped ninety percent of. The puck bounced over and crossed the line for the game-winner, which gave Cassie his first goal of the preseason and Behun his team-leading 3rd point in exhibition play.
UP NEXT: The Pistons will close out the 2019 MJHL Preseason with a home-and-home set against the Winkler Flyers on Friday and Saturday, with the latter matchup at the TG Smith Centre. Both games are set for a 7:30 pm start time.