After scoring the first two goals of the game, the Pistons couldn’t close the deal as the Virden Oil Capitals scored five straight goals in the second and third periods to beat Steinbach 5-3 Thursday night.
Dalton Dosch looked shaky in the first 10 minutes but did not let a goal in after that point, as he made 30 saves in the victory. Matt Lenz took his first regulation loss of the season, stopping 24 of 29 Oil Caps shots.
Steinbach jumped out to a 1-0 lead just 2:11 into the game. Easton Bennett found Aiden Wagner in the slot, and Wagner picked the top corner for his 4thof the season.
Virden carried the play in the early portion of the game, but Brendan Martin quieted the Oil Caps pressure as he snuck one through Dosch from an awkward angle and it was 2-0 Steinbach. Martin, who scored the Turnbull Cup winning goal the last time the Pistons played in Virden, netted his 14thgoal on the year from Boedey Vaeth at the 8:27 mark of the first.
However, it turned dramatically in the second and carried on the rest of the game. The Oil Caps came out a different team to start the period, and tied it up in the frame. First, Josh Belcher fed a nice pass to Brett Paddock, who just got enough on the puck to lift it over the pad of Lenz to make it a 2-1 hockey game at the 11:10 mark.
Then on a power play, Logan Rands threw a shot on the blocker of Lenz. It might have been planned, as the rebound went right to Kolten Kanaski who buried his 12thof the season to tie it up with 5:22 left in the middle frame.
In the third, the wheels came off for Steinbach. First, Tristan Culleton turned the puck over in the Pistons zone, and Paddock found Mccullough Park who put the puck past Lenz to give Virden the lead 1:11 in. Tristen Cross gave the Oil Caps a two goal advantage after a nice feed from Blake Sidoni for his 3rdof the season at the 7:52 mark.
And to cap the onslaught of goals by Virden in the third, Cross diagonal dumped the puck into the right corner boards. Lenz went out to play the puck, but it took a weird carom right into the slot where Hunter Cloutier was waiting for it. He snapped it into the vacant net, and it was 5-2 for the Oil Caps.
Max Neill added a late goal for the Pistons with 1:23 left. The marker is Neill’s 4thof the season and was assisted by Brendan Westbrook.
SPECIAL TEAMS
The Pistons did not get their first power play until late in the third period. They went 0 for 2, while the Oil Caps went 2 for 5 with the man advantage.
UP NEXT: The Pistons will have to turn the page on this one quickly, as the Swan Valley Stampeders come into Steinbach for a crucial two game set on Saturday at 7:30 pm, and Sunday at 7:00 pm. Get your tickets online at Steinbachpistons.ca, and as always you can watch all the action live on HockeyTV.