Another big road game for the Pistons as they head to Stride Place in Portage on Friday night for tilt with the Terriers.
With a 3-2 overtime win on Wednesday night on home ice versus the Wolverines, Steinbach extended their win streak to 8. The return of Jack Cook and Shane Burns on the blue line has been a huge blessing for Steinbach who has been short on defenseman since early December. That being said, just when they thought they were healthy, 20-year-old Parker Jasper left the game with an upper body injury on Sunday in Niverville and is expected to miss a minimum of 6 weeks.
Up front, Hunter Degelman is still out for at least two more weeks and Jackson Kostiuk is also out with an upper body injury. Good call by Head Coach/GM Paul Dyck on deciding to keep a 25 man roster this year.
The last time these two teams met was 2 weeks ago at the HyLife Centre where the Pistons kicked off the new year with a solid 6-1 win. When the Pistons play with the full speed they are capable of, they seem to do quite well versus the Terriers. The Pistons only loss to the Terriers was earlier in the season at Stride Place.
The Terriers sit only one point back of the second place Winkler Flyers in the MJHL’s east division. A win tonight for the green and white would not only make a statement but would slide them up into second place and only 4 points back of the Pistons.
Terrier netminder Jayden Catellier is expected to get the start on Friday night. The 20-year-old has played some solid hockey as of late and now sits 4th amongst league goalies for save percentage at .919.
SPECIAL TEAMS
PISTONS: PP 34/151 – 22.5% PK 170/186 – 91.4%
TERRIERS: PP 34/200 – 17.0% PK 144/172 – 83.7%
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Pistons: Trey Sauder
Talk about igniting the fire. This guy has been on a roll since joining the blue and white. The 20-year-old Swan River native has scored 4 goals in his 3 games so far with the Pistons, two of which came in his first game versus his former team. Sauder has been a great addition to the Pistons offense paired up on a line with Kirk Mullen and Brett Kaiser.
Terriers: Ashton Fishley
Another 20-year-old who was traded from the Stampeders at the deadline. Fishley has been fitting right in at the dog pound. The veteran blue liner has put up 3 assists in his last two games. This will be the first time the two former Stamps face off against each other. Two prominent players to keep an eye out for.
Puck drop at Stride Place is at 7:30pm. Catch the game on Flo Hockey or listen to voice of the Pistons Dave Anthony over at DAbroadcasting.mixlr.com.
Road Report brought to you by Compass Coach Lines. Visit them at www.compasscoachlines.com.