It was a big night for three Pistons veterans as Steinbach topped the Portage Terriers 6-2 Wednesday night in front of a packed house at the TG Smith Centre.
Captain Tyson McConnell had a hat-trick, Brendan Martin had two goals of his own, and defenceman Troy Williams led the way against his former team with 4 assists on the night.
Matt Radomsky continued his hot play with 25 saves on the night for his 3rd straight win in goal, while Terrier tenders Nathan Moore and Miles Minor combined to stop 33 of 39 Steinbach shots.
The Pistons scored four times in the first 12 minutes of the game, and Martin got the party started by taking a bounce pass off of the boards from Tristan Culleton and streaked down the left wing to beat starter Moore five-hole to get Steinbach on the board 1:51 into the game. McConnell got his 1st of the night by deflecting a Williams point shot past Moore at the 5:51 mark to give the Pistons a two goal lead. Boedey Vaeth got the bonus assist on McConnell’s 4th goal of the year.
The Piston power play was clicking all night against the #1 ranked penalty kill in the MJHL, as a beauty passing play by Williams and Brady Tatro set up Martin cross-ice, and he buried his 2n of the night into a yawning cage to make it 3-0 halfway through the first period.
And then a strange play happened off of a face-off, as McConnell threw a harmless puck into the pads of Moore. The puck squeezed behind the Terrier goalie, and it sat there motionless waiting for someone to touch it. Eventually Moore did, and inadvertently knocked the puck in with his glove and Steinbach went up by four. Moore was done for the night, and in came backup Miles Minor.
The Pistons went on an early 5 on 3 power play early in period 2, and McConnell capitalized on his hat-trick goal by picking up a rebound off of a hard Williams point shot and deposited the loose change past Minor to make it 5-0 at the 1:09 mark of the frame.
Portage got on the board shortly after, as Kolton Shindle took a pass from Sheldin Howard and put it past Radomsky at the 2:57 mark. Owen Murray had the bonus assist on Shindle’s 2nd of the season.
Brady Tatro scored a goal for the fourth straight game late in the second frame, as he tipped in a Williams point shot past Minor on the PP to restore Steinbach’s five goal lead. However Portage would shrink the lead again as Howard used nifty handwork in tight and shelved a backhand past the Pistons goaltender Radomsky to make it 6-2 after 40 minutes of play.
However that’s all the scoring that went on in the game, as the Pistons skated comfortably to a 6-2 win and their 3rd straight W.
SPECIAL TEAMS
The Pistons were 3 for 7 with the man advantage, and killed off all three man advantages.
UP NEXT: The Pistons hit the road for four straight including three games in three nights against the OCN Blizzard (2) and the Swan Valley Stampeders on Sunday.