Coming off a tough loss at home, the Steinbach Pistons responded, scoring early in the game and continuing to pile up the offence, eventually beating the Portage Terriers 7-2 at Stride Place on Wednesday.
First period
Less than a minute into the first, the Pistons used a turnover to force the Terriers into a penalty, and they would not miss the opportunity to open the scoring.
After working the puck around the offensive zone, Sam Noad made his way to his office, right in front of the net. A point shot by Liam Doyle was stopped, but Noad was there to cash in on the rebound, putting Steinbach up 1-0.
For Noad, his hot streak continues as the captain hit 10 goals on the year, and five in his last six games. Connor Paronuzzi picked up the secondary assist, his second point since returning to Steinbach.
Paronuzzi would factor into the next Pistons goal, as the 20-year-old broke in with Evan Gradt on a two-on-one rush. While Gradt’s first attempt to get the puck to Paronuzzi was blocked, he got it right back and sent it over, where Paronuzzi made no mistake, scoring his first goal of the year, making it 2-0.
The play all started in the defensive zone as Max Powers-Brekke banked a pass off the wall, and Grady Hoffman tied up his man, allowing the play to materialize. Hoffman was given credit for the secondary assist, and whether he gets a point or not, the play all started because of Powers-Brekke.
Portage managed to cut the lead in half, converting on kind of a broken three-on-two rush, but the two-goal lead would be quickly restored.
A great shift by the line of Ryan McDonald, Jack Greenwell, and Marek Miller kept the Terriers on their heels, unable to break out of the zone cleanly, and it was that dogged puck pursuit by all three that eventually resulted in a turnover.
William Picklyk came tearing off the bench after a change, and Miller hit him with a perfectly placed, perfectly timed pass. Picklyk unleashed a beast of a wrist shot that, even if Portage had both goalies in the net, wouldn’t have been stopped.
The bullseye for the 16-year-old was his 13th of the season. Luke Bogart started the play by creating that turnover and was given the secondary assist.
3-1 would be the score heading into the intermission.
Chris Quizi got the start for Steinbach, and while not overly tested, was strong in the crease, making 11 saves in the frame.
Second period
Things were moving along in the second period with the score holding, and after having two power play opportunities in the first, it was time for the Pistons to go on the penalty kill, but they wouldn’t have to kill the full two minutes, and not because Portage scored.
Jackson Kostiuk and Noad were working the penalty kill when Kostiuk cleared the zone, dumping the puck behind the Terrier net. Noad didn’t take anything for granted and went in forechecking the Portage defender. In doing so, catching the defender unaware, Noad managed to sneak the puck away and was high-sticked in the process.
The teams went to four-on-four for a short time. During that span, Steinbach worked the puck into the offensive zone, and Liam Doyle came streaking in, joining the rush, took a nice feed from Kostiuk, and ripped home his 7th of the year. Brett Kaiser, the player who bullied his way into the zone and drew a lot of the attention, picked up the other assist.
The 4-1 score didn’t hold long, as the Pistons extended it to 5-1 thanks again to hard work, determination, and a willingness to fight for pucks.
Throughout the game, the line of Picklyk, Eric Han and Logan Mehl kept causing the Terriers fits. The trio worked hard, and oftentimes, despite starting in the defensive zone, won their battles and moved the puck out of their own zone. Because of that, they were rewarded with an offensive zone start, and the group did not disappoint.
All three outworked their counterparts, hustling and muscling their way to the puck, leading to Picklyk causing a turnover, Mehl getting a puck in front, and Han finishing off the play by scoring goal 6 of the campaign.
Expanding the lead to 5-1 through 40 minutes was made possible thanks to some great saves while short handed by Quizi, who turned away a glorious opportunity for Portage right on the doorstep and even while looking down and out, was able to reach up and catch another shot on goal, forcing the Terriers to look skyward, unable to believe the saves he just made.
Third period
In the early stages of the final frame, the Terries capitalized on a terrible turnover by Steinbach in their own zone, scoring to make it a little more respectable, 5-2.
Portage made a push after that, but again, Quizi held strong, keeping them from getting any closer.
The offence would reward their goaltenders’ hard work by putting the game out of reach.
Another Pistons power play resulted in Noad’s second of the game, as he tipped in a Hoffman shot, giving the captain 11 on the year.
“If Sam Noad is ever lost, no need to search for him, just find the opponent’s net, and he’ll be standing in front of it,” someone joked during the game, as Noad from his office pushed the lead to 6-1 from Hoffman and Bogart.
Picklyk would snipe his second of the game from Kostiuk and Charlie Velner, capping off a strong scoring night at 7-2. Picklyk is now up to 14 goals on the year.
All four lines contributed to the offence, and all six defenders were very solid.
Evan Kabel, Velner, Bogart, Powers-Brekke, Rory Gilmour, and Doyle had chances to score while also moving pucks effectively, keeping Portage from gaining any real momentum throughout in what turned into a good all-around night for the blueline.
Quizi picked up the win, finishing with 29 saves in a very solid outing, and got a big hug from Easton Thvedt, who was backing up, after the game.
Steinbach’s power play was lethal, finishing 3-5, but looked dangerous on all 5 chances. The penalty was equally strong, going 2-2.
Game notes
Sam Noad has 6 goals in his last 6 games.
Liam Doyle is tied for second in scoring by MJHL defenceman with 33 points.
Jackson Kostiuk had 2 assists, giving him a 5-game point streak where he has multiple points in all five of the games. The 19-year-old has 11 points in 5 games.
William Picklyk has scored 6 goals in his last 6 games. He has three multi-goal games in his last 6 games, and has 8 points in that span, as well.
Chris Quizi, making his second start since returning from injury, secured his first win since November 8th.
Evan Gradt skated in his 150th MJHL game and picked up an assist, giving him a new career high in helpers with 20.
Connor Paronuzzi scored his first goal with Steinbach since March 28th, which would have been game 4 of the playoffs last year vs Portage.
Marek Miller has 6 points in his last 6 games.
Brett Kaiser is up to 27 assists on the year, the most on the Pistons, and 9th in helpers across the MJHL.
Luke Bogart has 6 points in his last 4 games.
Grady Hoffman has 3 points in his last 3 games.
Fun fact
After being shutout 1-0 in overtime by the Terriers in their first meeting of the year, Steinbach has outscored Portage 19-3 over a three-game stretch.
Up next
A busy stretch will continue for Steinbach as they return to the Southeast Event Centre for a matchup against the Winkler Flyers.
The two teams haven’t met since the first two games of the season, and both teams are drastically different, having made additions over the course of the last few months.
Steinbach is coming in with a 3-2 record over their last five games, while the Flyers haven’t lost in January, posting a 6-0 record, and outscoring their opponents 30-12.
After Friday, Steinbach will welcome hundreds of school kids for a Monday afternoon game against the Winnipeg Blues. Walk-up tickets will still be available, but there is a limited amount.
Another game, the next night at home, will follow that, a makeup game against Winkler that was scrubbed earlier due to weather. That will be a 7:00 p.m. puck drop.
