Courtesy of Steinbachonline.com
Another three games in three night stretch kicked off on Friday for the Steinbach Pistons with a big 3-2 in OCN.
After a long day of traveling, head coach Paul Dyck was pleased with how the players came firing out of the gate. “We liked our first period. We thought for spending most of the day on the bus, we had good jump.”
Steinbach got on the board first when Mack Graham found the back of the net for his 7th of the season. Brad Schoonbaert (7th) and Darby Gula (3rd) also lit the lamp for the Pistons. Luke Amsbaugh, Hayden Goderis (2) and Denis Bosc had assists.
The Pistons went into action holding down the third spot in the MJHL while the Blizzard sat in eighth, but as Dyck explains, the way that OCN played, spots in the standings didn’t matter. “OCN played like a desperate team in the second and third and made it very difficult for us. “
Over the final 40 minutes of play, the Pistons were outshot 31-10.
Roman Bengert continued his solid play of late and Dyck knows that it was the man in the blue paint that propelled the team to the victory. “They put a lot of pucks to the net and did a good job of getting pucks through. Roman was outstanding and gave us a chance to pick up the two points. No question they out chanced us in the 2nd and 3rd. It’s unlikely that we’ll be able to get away with that again today.”
With two assists on Friday night, Hayden Goderis now has 22 points (6 goals, 16 assists) and is averaging better than a point per game. Dyck talked about what the 20 year old forward has been able to do this season and with different line partners on most nights. “Goddy has been a pretty consistent performer fo us this season. As a player with 4 years of experience in our league, he has seen most situations. He has matured as a player and a guy we rely on heavily. During these types of road trips, you expect your veterans to lead the team and keep them focused and he plays a large role in that regard.”
The Pistons will play again in OCN on Saturday night before wrapping up the road trip in Swan Valley on Sunday. Dyck knows that the team will have to dig down a little deeper if they hope to sweep the two game set against the Blizzard. “We need to win more puck battles, consistently work to be first on pucks and play a more physical game. We have been strong in the faceoff circle all year but our numbers yesterday (Friday night) were not where they need to be. Overall we need to commit to our defensive game and reduce our shots on net.”