The Steinbach Pistons will match up against the Winkler Flyers in round 2 of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League playoffs.
Here’s a break down of the teams during the regular season and how they matched up through their 6 meetings this season.
Steinbach Pistons (45-10-5) – 2nd – 95 points
Power Play – 27.5% – 1st
Penalty Kill – 81.2% – 6th
Goals For – 251
Goals Against – 138
Goal Differential: 2nd @ +113
Top 3 Scorers:
Daniel Taillefer – 22G 59A = 81pts
Cole Smith – 26G 35A = 61pts
Tyler Penner – 23G 35A = 58pts
Goalies:
Roman Bengert: 25-8 3SO GAA: 2.07 SV%: .926
Jeremy Wik: 20-7 1SO GAA: 2.27 SV%: .913
Winkler Flyers (42-13-5) – 3rd – 89 points
Power play – 26.8%% – 2nd
Penalty kill – 85.6% – 2nd
Goals For – 260
Goals Against – 153
Goal Differential: 3rd @ +107
Top 3 Scorers:
Tristan Keck – 39G 44A = 83pts
Cam Whyte – 35G 35A = 70pts
Scott Gall – 34G 27A = 61pts
Goalie Stats:
Connor Slipp: 18-5 2SO GAA: 2.26 Sv% .922
Nathan Warren: 14-7 0SO GAA 2.55 Sv% .916
Season Series Summary:
Friday September 25th – Season opener in Steinbach, Winkler wins 5-2.
Game Summary: Winkler jumped out infront 2-0 in the first period on goals by Zak Hicks. Steinbach fired 19 shots on goal but couldn’t find the back of the net. Tyler Penner eventually did score for Stienbach but three 3rd period goals sunk the Pistons. Ryan Larochelle (W) Wik (L)
Saturday September 26th – Home opener for Winkler, Steinbach wins 6-2.
Game Summary: A night after Winkler spoiled the party in Steinbach, the Pistons returend the favor scoring 4 goals in the opening period. Denis Bosc scored a hat-trick while the Pistons power play finished 2-3. Winkler’s Scott Gall had a goal and a assist in the loss. Bengert (W) Larochelle (L)
Tuesday October 6th – Pistons win in overtime 4-3 in Winkler.
Game Summary: Steinbach held the lead late in the third peroid but Winkler was able to score with just 40 seconds remaining in the game. James Shearer score in overtime to give Steinbach the victory. Scott Gall again added a goal and an assist. Winkler outshot Steinbach 38-29. Wik (W) Larochelle (OTL)
Friday October 16th – Pistons win 3-1 in Steinbach.
Game Summary: Matthieu Gomercic had a pair of goals while Jordan Bochinski added two assists in the win for Steinbach. Coltyn Bates scored the opening goal of the game but it was all the offence Winkler could muster. Wik (W) Larochelle (L)
Saturday November 7th – Winkler earns a 3-2 shootout victory in Steinbach
Game Summary: Tristan Keck had a pair of goals including the goal that knotted up the score midway through the third period. Steinbach failed to find the back of the net in their 3 shootout attempts while Jordan Williamson scored for Winkler. Wik (SOL) Connor Slipp (W)
Tuesday December 1st – Winkler defends home ice, wins 3-1
Game Summary: Steinbach played a solid two periods of hockey, taking a 1-0 lead into the final frame. In the last period, it was all Winkler as they scored 3 unanswered including an empty netter to send Steinbach home with a loss. Slipp (W) Bengert (L)
Flyers: The Flyers are coming off a 4-1 series victory over the OCN Blizzard. Winkler had 60 shots on goal in game number 5 and managed to score 4 goals. The Flyers have used their depth to their advantage with severl players stepping up on the score sheet and physically. Nathan Warren played well and will face the Pistons for the first time in game number 1. Winkler did surrender a lot of shots against the Blizzard. The Winkler Recreational Complex was packed and fans are expected to not just fill the rink in Winkler but also make the trip to Steinbach.
Pistons: Two straight victories in overtime propelled the Pistons over the Swan Valley Stampeders with a 4-0 sweep. Steinbach’s power play was lights out in the opening round series. All four lines have developed into a tough to play against unit that makes life difficult while cycling and forcing opposing defense to make bad passes out of the zone. The penalty kill will need to bare down and make sure pucks clear the blue line as at times against Swan, they were hemmed into their own zone for too long. Steinbach’s top 6 will be depended on to score 5 on 5 and the all rookie line could see a spike in point production with increased roles.