It was the first of two meetings in four days between the Steinbach Pistons and Portage Terriers, as Steinbach kicked off a three-game homestand Wednesday night looking to build off its 5-4 overtime comeback win over the Waywayseecappo Wolverines last Saturday.
Portage opened the scoring 5:46 into the opening frame on the power play. Trevor Hill entered the Pistons’ zone and dished a pass to the right side to Drayden Uhrina, who sent it back to Hill crashing the net for a tap-in goal. Hill slipped past Steinbach’s defence for his 10th of the campaign.
Ryan McDonald evened things up with his 22nd of the season at 12:25. Jack Greenwell sent a pass to Connor Paronuzzi streaking down the left side, and Paronuzzi then found McDonald at the top of the crease for the game-tying goal.
Both teams remained deadlocked at 1-1 after 20 minutes, with Steinbach holding an 11-8 edge in shots.
Portage failed to clear the puck out of its own zone early in the middle frame, and Brett Kaiser made them pay. Jackson Kostiuk picked up a loose puck and found Kaiser, who danced around a Terrier. Using his time and space, Kaiser walked in and beat Ryan Velan on the blocker side for his 23rd of the season. With Sam Noad available for a one-timer, the 20-year-old instead picked his spot to give Steinbach its first lead of the game.
There was no further scoring in the second period, but Pistons goaltender Chris Quizi stole the show, making a couple of sensational stops to keep his team in front by one, including a spectacular cross-crease save on the penalty kill.
Steinbach led 2-1 after 40 minutes while holding a slim 24-22 advantage in shots.
Kaiser netted his second of the contest late in the game to give his club a two-goal lead. He collected the puck along the right-side wall, drove down to the goal line, and sniped home his 24th of the year at 14:53, beating Velan at an impossible angle to make it 3-1.
Less than two minutes later, McDonald added his second of the night at 16:26 to push the lead to 4-1. Grady Hoffman sent McDonald in alone on a breakaway, and he cleanly beat Velan five-hole for his 23rd of the season.
Ben Bugeaud got Portage within two at 17:00 with his 17th, but Sam Noad restored Steinbach’s three-goal cushion at 18:56 with an empty-net goal. His 10th of the season sealed the 5-2 win.
Steinbach held on to pick up its second straight victory, opening February and its three-game homestand with a 5-2 victory over the Terriers. Quizi was sharp between the pipes, turning aside 30 shots as the Pistons improved to 33-8-2.
Steinbach now looks ahead to Friday’s matchup against the defending Turnbull Cup champion Northern Manitoba Blizzard, their first ever meeting at Southeast Event Centre, with puck drop set for 7 p.m. CST. The Pistons will then take on Portage again Saturday night to conclude the homestand at 8 p.m. CST.
Article written by Evan Waldner – Photo courtesy of Patrick Friesen
