A sold-out Southeast Event Centre was buzzing on Saturday night as the Steinbach Pistons returned home with a 3-1 series lead over the Portage Terriers, looking to punch their ticket to the second round of the Turnbull Cup Playoffs in what was an extremely close game for all 60 minutes.
Steinbach had a couple of power plays in the opening frame but couldn’t get anything past Logan Cunningham until the second period, when the penalties continued to stack up for Portage as they took four minor penalties from four different players. The Pistons took advantage of that to open the scoring in a very tight game.
Zhenya Miles walked into the high slot on a Pistons 4-on-3 power play and found captain Sam Noad backdoor, where he redirected the pass from the defenceman past Cunningham to break the ice at 7:03 of the second period for his second of the playoffs.
Things got a bit dicey late for Steinbach, who was looking to close it out. Miles got called for slew-foot tripping at 16:19 of the third, giving Portage a four-minute power play that would last the rest of regulation and into overtime unless they scored.
Luckily, Steinbach’s penalty kill was excellent, giving Portage a difficult time setting up in the offensive zone.
Steinbach secured the 2-0 shutout win when Liam Doyle potted an empty-net goal with just over a second left in the contest, his fourth of the playoffs.
Chris Quizi, who has been a brick wall in goal all series long, made 29 saves for his first shutout of the postseason, helping Steinbach advance to the semifinals for the first time since 2024.
There was a lot of mutual respect between the two rivals, especially in the handshake line following Game 5, but now Steinbach’s focus shifts to their next opponent: the Virden Oil Capitals, in their first postseason meeting since the 2023 Turnbull Cup Final.
No official schedule has been announced yet, but Game 1 of the Turnbull Cup semifinals is expected to be played next weekend.
Article provided by Evan Waldner – Picture courtesy of Ice Wave Media
