Courtesy of Steinbachonline.com – Photo Courtesy of Dave Mikkola
Julien Koga was all smiles after the Steinbach Pistons game on Saturday night after scoring his first two goals of the season and adding an assist in what finished as a 5-2 victory over the Virden Oil Capitals for their sixth straight win.
The Pistons remembered the beating the Oil Capitals laid earlier this year in Virden and came out flying in the first period. “This team has had our number in the past,” said assistant coach Rob Smith after the game, “they make it tough getting two points but we’re really happy with the effort. The boys battled for 60 minutes.”
The chances have been there for Koga all season long and on Saturday he got his night started with a beautiful shot that was described by a teammate as, “a total snipe”. Koga finished with two goal and an assist. Mack Graham, Hayden Goderis and Denis Bosc also scored for Steinbach while Darby Gula, Dan Taillefer, Matt Gomercic, Eddie Eades (2) and Luke Amsbaugh (2) all had assists.
Koga was all smiles after the game and as he was giving his post-game thoughts, was encouraged in the background by Mack Graham and Jordan Bochinski. “It’s a big sense of relief once I saw it go in and it was good to start the game off with the first one right off the hop. We’re clicking as a team both on and off the ice and we hope to keep it going here.”
The penalty kills finished 1 for 5 while the penalty kill, which has been much improved, went 3 for 4. The one blip coming with a late penalty and Virden scoring with two seconds left in the game.
Roman Bengert was named second star and again played a solid game giving Steinbach a chance to flex their offensive muscles. Bengert made 32 saves in the win.
The Pistons will head out on the road Sunday for a date with the Winnipeg Blues. You can catch that game on AM1250 and SteinbachOnline.com with the pre-game show at 6:15pm and puck drop at 6:30pm.