Dauphin’s leading scorers Nakodan Greyeyes and Grady Hobbs did what they do best, and that’s putting up points as the Kings got some revenge on the Steinbach Pistons in a 5-2 Saturday night win.
Greyeyes and Hobbs both put up two goals and an assist to lead the way for the Kings, who also got a great performance by Matthias Smith in goal with 33 saves in the win. Thomson Phinney stopped 21 of 26 shots in the loss for the Pistons.
Steinbach got the game’s first goal 5:16 into the first period. Ryan Butler took a pass from Kyle Bettens on a 2-on-1 and tucked the puck underneath Smith for a 1-0 lead, with Ty Naaykens getting the extra apple on Butler’s 3rd goal as a Piston.
The Kings would respond thanks to their leading scorer Hobbs, who beat Phinney unassisted with just over nine minutes left in the opening frame. Greyeyes would give Dauphin the lead with just seconds remaining on their first man advantage of the game, as he put a rebound over a sprawling Phinney with 50 seconds left in the period.
Avery Smith would catch the Pistons off guard three minutes into the second period, making his way down the right wing and threw a wrist shot on goal that Phinney couldn’t handle, giving the Kings a 3-1 lead.
After that, it was all Pistons as they played a desperate game trying to get themselves back into the contest. Smith turned Steinbach away with many solid saves, and Dauphin would take that two-goal lead into the third period.
The Pistons would push hard in the beginning of the third period but would eventually run out of gas, and the Kings would seal the deal with a couple of goals by Greyeyes and Hobbs (on the power play) to take a 5-1 lead late in regulation. Codey Behun would complete the scoring for Steinbach on the power play with a hard wrist shot along the ice that beat Smith five-hole with two minutes left. Tanner Mole and Dylan Cassie would nab the assists on Behun’s career-high 20th goal of the season.
SPECIAL TEAMS
The Pistons would end up 1 for 4 on the power play while the Kings went 2 for 5.
UP NEXT: Steinbach has now concluded their busiest stretch of the season (nine game in fifteen days), and will now get some much needed rest before the Kings come to Steinbach for a Valentine’s Day matchup. Puck drop for Date Night with the Pistons is at 7:30 pm, get your tickets for that game online at Steinbachpistons.ca.