Six different Pistons got on the score sheet with goals as Steinbach notched their 2nd win of the preseason with a 6-1 win over the Winkler Flyers Friday night.
Today’s game marked the return of a few familiar faces from last season as Easton Bennett, Brady Tatro, and Declan Graham were in the lineup for the Pistons. However, most faces on the ice tonight were looking to make a lasting impression on coaches Paul Dyck and Calvin Bugyik.
Matt Lenz and Danton Belluk split time in the goal for Steinbach, Lenz stopped all 9 shots he faced while Belluk made 5 saves on the night.
Bennett scored the only goal of the opening frame for Steinbach, as he found the rebound off of a David Queree shot with under three to go in the period. Queree and Landon Roberts notched the helpers on Bennett’s first of the preseason.
The Pistons would increase their lead in the second, as a point shot from Pistons prospect Carter Bateman got through Flyers goaltender Riley Morgan to make it 2-0. Jack Kilroy and Liam Anderson picked up the assists on Bateman’s second of the preseason 6:51 into the period. The Flyers would cut the lead in half as Jayden McCarthy scored on a 3-on-1 to make it 2-1, with defenceman Erik Fawkes picking up the lone helper.
The Pistons would restore the lead, as a Bateman point shot was deftly deflected by Troy Beauchemin in the slot with 1:19 left. Beauchemin notched his first of the exhibition schedule, with Bateman and Tatro picking up helpers.
The Pistons pulled away in the 2nd half of the third and final period. Landon Roberts scored his first of the preseason on the power play from Queree and Boedey Vaeth at the 13:47 mark for a 4-1 lead. Declan Graham got in on the fun, as his wrist shot in the high slot made it 5-1, with Tatro and Max Neill picking up the apples. And Wyatt Andres concluded scoring for Steinbach, as he took a beautiful pass from Logan Danis and went bar down on Noah Giesbrecht with 2:03 to go.
NEW PISTON LOVING HIS NEW DIGS
David Queree is one of the many new faces in camp for Steinbach. The Richmond, B.C. native has spent the past two seasons with the Edge School Prep Midget team in Calgary of the CSSHL. “It was a lot of fun,” Queree said after the game. “I felt a lot of pride. It’s great to be a part of the Pistons organization, and I’m looking forward to a great season.”
“The boys were going hard, we battled much better than the other team and came out on top,” he explained. “We scored some goals, which is always fun. It was great to come out on top.”
NEXT GAME: These two teams will go at it again tomorrow night in Winkler. Puck drop is at 7:30 pm, you can catch the game on HockeyTV. The Pistons will face the Blues in Winnipeg on Tuesday, September 11 before wrapping up the 2018 preseason with a home and home series against the Selkirk Steelers.