Courtesy of TheCarillon.com
The Steinbach Pistons rallied from a 3-1 second period deficit as they went on to defeat the first place Portage Terriers 4-3 in a shootout in Manitoba Junior Hockey League action Sunday night in Steinbach.
Darby Gula scored two minutes into the third to pull the Pistons to within one and then Mackenzie Graham scored on the powerplay with four minutes remaining to send this game into overtime. Mathieu Gomercic scored for the Pistons in the first as the teams traded goals in the opening frame.
Jordan Bochinski eventually scored the winner in the seventh round of the shootout. Robert Briem also scored for the Pistons in the first round. Jeremy Wik was superb in net for the Pistons as he stopped six Portage shooters to backstop the Pistons to victory. Wik made 29 saves in the game as the Pistons outshot the Terriers 42-32.
Not only did the Piston win gain a weekend split with the vaunted Terriers after the Terriers won 5-3 Saturday in Portage, it also vaulted the Pistons (27-9-2) past the Winkler Flyers into sole possession of second place in the standings. The Flyers lost 5-4 in a shootout Sunday night at Selkirk and the Pistons are now a point ahead of the Flyers. Portage continues to lead the loop with a 32-6-2 record, 10 points clear of the Pistons.
Elsewhere in the MJHL on Sunday: Swan Valley edged Neepawa 6-5, Dauphin outscored OCN 6-2 and Winnipeg defeated Wayway 5-4.
The Pistons will host the Waywayseecappo Wolverines Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. at the T.G. Smith Centre.