The Steinbach Pistons kicked off a one-off road game in Neepawa against the Titans on Wednesday night at Yellowhead Centre, a building they had yet to record a win in this season, looking to win their fifth straight game and extend their point streak to double digits.
The home team struck first at 5:18, as Ryan Harris beat Pistons netminder Chris Quizi for his second of the season.
Marek Miller evened the score at 9:32 on the power play with his 11th. Brett Kaiser circled around the left circle and cut into the middle of the ice, sending a pass down low to the La Salle, Man. native, who one-timed it past Zach Burleigh to tie the game.
It didn’t take long for Neepawa to respond, as Talen Lewis restored the Titans’ one-goal lead at 10:57, just 1:25 after Miller’s tying goal, for his 11th.
After the opening frame, the Pistons trailed 2-1, with Neepawa leading the shots 11-9.
Steinbach dug themselves into a deeper hole 9:20 into the middle frame when Titans captain and Neepawa native Cooper Kasprick finished off a passing play to beat Quizi for his 17th to make it 3-1.
Connor Paronuzzi got his club within a goal shortly after, as his wrist shot from the top of the right circle trickled past Burleigh for the 20-year-old’s third.
Steinbach made it a new game in the final minute, capitalizing on a power-play opportunity with 48 seconds left. Captain Sam Noad held the puck near the left faceoff dot and sent a cross-ice pass to Rory Gilmour, who fired a one-timer off the post and past Burleigh to tie it 3-3 for his 13th and Steinbach’s second power-play goal of the night.
Despite trailing by two, Steinbach climbed out of the hole to be even after 40 minutes. The Pistons led the shots 25-18, outshooting Neepawa 16-7 in the second period.
The final 20 minutes solved nothing thanks to solid goaltending from Quizi and Burleigh, sending the game to overtime.
After a wild 3-on-3, Paronuzzi ended it with just 35 seconds left in the extra frame. Liam Doyle carried the puck through centre and into the Neepawa zone, sending a pass just inside the right circle to Paronuzzi, who was crashing the net on the left side and one-timed it home for the overtime winner and his second of the contest.
Three unanswered goals helped the Pistons force overtime and secure their fifth straight win, improving to 36-8-2 and 9-0-1 in their last 10 games.
Steinbach returns to Southeast Event Centre on Friday to face the league-best Niverville Nighthawks before heading to Selkirk on Saturday to take on the Selkirk Steelers at Selkirk Recreational Complex.
Article written by Evan Waldner – Photo courtesy of Patrick Friesen
