The Steinbach Pistons went into Friday night’s game against the Portage Terriers looking for a much better effort than they’ve had of late, and that’s exactly what they got in a 5-2 win at the TG Smith Centre.
Danny Pion got the scoring started in the first period. He found a loose puck at the bottom of the circle, turned and fired it on goal. The puck somehow found a hole and made it 1-0 Steinbach. For Pion, it was his 8th goal of the year with the lone assist going to Tyler Anderson.
Portage responded just over a minute later to tie the game at 1-1.
The Pistons pushed ahead in the final minute of play. On the power play, Bradley Schoonbaert converted a pass from Mack Graham to make it 2-1 Steinbach. For Schoonbaert, it was goal 28 on the season.
In the second, the Terriers scored on a man advantage to tie the game at 2-2.
The captain Jordan Bochinski gave his team the lead again as he snapped off a shot that went top corner. Bochinski hit the 20 goal plateau for the first time in his MJHL career. Braden Purtill and Schoonbaert had the assists on the goal.
In the third, Schoonbaert scored another power play goal to make it 4-2 with Mack Graham and Tyler Anderson picking up the assists and the Piston sealed the win with an empty-netter from Pion (9).
Roman Bengert was solid making 20 saves on the night. The power play was 2-6 while the penalty kill was 2-3. Shots were 36-22 Steinbach.
The Pistons final regular season game is Saturday night against the OCN Blizzard.
Game Notes:
Tyler Anderson has set a team record for assists by a defenseman at 36.
Braden Purtill was wearing an “A” and will for the remainder of the season.
Mack Graham has 79 points on the year, 2 away from the team record of 81.
Danny Pion has 18 points in 22 games as a member of the Steinbach Pistons.