Class was in session on Saturday night as Matt Radomsky put on a goalie clinic with a 33 save performance as the Pistons defeated the Swan Valley Stampeders 5-2.
Radomsky made three or four highlight reel saves on the night to keep the leading goal scoring team in the MJHL at bay. “I think we all had a good game tonight, it was one of our most consistent (games) of the year,” he said after the game. “Any little save I can make to boost the team, whether it’s big or small, it’s just to let them know that I’m back there and giving them some confidence.”
Radomsky started off the game by robbing Josh Maucieri with the paddle of his stick on a 2-on-1 break. “I just saw them coming and I saw the guy on the off-wing,” he said on the save. “I actually had my feet set on the shot, and he passed it off at the last second and I got my paddle on it.”
However the goal scoring was kicked off by the visitors as Maucieri got a bit of revenge and notched his 6th goal of the season at the 11:06 mark of the first, with Tanner McKechnie and Dane Hirst getting the helpers.
The Pistons responded quickly as newcomer Aiden Wagner scored his first MJHL goal in his first game as he got to the front of the net after a Troy Beauchemin shot and knocked the puck out of the air and into the net to tie the game. Wagner, a 20-year-old from Langley, B.C. got into Steinbach yesterday and got on the board to tie it up. Rookies Beauchemin and Caydin Cleland had the apples on the goal.
The Pistons took the lead as Easton Bennett knifed the puck into the net after a David Queree shot to make it 2-1. Queree and Max Neill picked up the helpers on Bennett’s first goal of the season with 3:26 to go in period 1. Swan outshot the Pistons 16-11 in the frame.
Stampeders goalie Michael Davis made a great save of his own in the second period as he robbed Marcel Berube on a 2-on-1, but the rebound bounced right to Brady Tatro who deposited the puck into the yawning cage to make it 3-1 at the 4:07 mark of the second period. Berube and Brendan Martin had the assists.
In the third period the Stamps pulled within a goal on the power play, as Matt Osadick’s point shot found its way through. Maucieri and Quintin Sudom had the assists on Osadick’s 5th goal of the season. But the Pistons got their first power play of the game soon after, and they capitalized as Troy Williams let go a bomb from the point and it ripped the twine to restore Steinbach’s two goal lead at the 7:23 mark, with Curtis Ireland and Martin getting the apples on Williams’ 2nd goal of the season.
Brendan Martin capped off the scoring with a beauty of a goal, as he took a cross-ice pass from Tatro in the neutral zone and dangled around a Swan defender and roofed a backhander over Davis to make it 5-2. Tatro and Declan Graham had the assists on Martin’s 3rd of the season.
Radomsky held the fort for Steinbach, who skated away with a 5-2 victory and an even 3-3 record. The man the team calls Rads has had a great start to the season even though his 2-3-0 doesn’t indicate how well he’s played. “I feel good in the net,” he explained. “I feel like the games that we’ve lost I’ve had a decent game too. It’s not like we’ve played really bad, with all of our losses being by one goal, but my confidence is growing every day.”
SPECIAL TEAMS
Both teams went 1 for 4 on the PP.
UP NEXT: The Pistons face the Winkler Flyers tomorrow night at 7:00 pm at the TG Smith Centre. Don’t forget to bring your spare cans in support of Southeast Helping Hands, as we help families in need for Thanksgiving. You can get your tickets online at Steinbachpistons.ca, or grab them one hour prior to puck drop at the gate.