Bradley Schoonbaert scored a pair of goals and an assist, Drew Worrad had a goal and two assists, and Austin Heidemann had two assists as the Pistons scored a 3-0 victory over the Swan Valley Stampeders Friday night.
Matt Radomsky was rock solid in the Piston net, stopping 29 shots for his MJHL leading 6th shutout of the season. Ethan Peterson got the start for Swan, and he made 32 saves in the loss.
The last meeting of the season came last month during the MJHL Showcase in Winnipeg, and both teams felt each other out in the first 20 minutes. The Pistons got 3 chances on the power play, including a 5-on-3 chance, but they couldn’t beat Peterson.
Just 29 seconds into the second period, Worrad got the Pistons’ first goal of the game on a wrist shot that beat Peterson on the blocker side. It was Worrad’s 17th of the season from Schoonbaert and Heidemann. However, it was the Stampeders that controlled much of the play in the second period. The Pistons ran into major penalty problems in the frame, taking 6 penalites in the period including a double-minor penalty by Brady Tatro for high-sticking. Radomsky and the penalty-killers were huge in the period to turn the tide in the Pistons’ favor. The Winnipeg native had one of his best periods of the season, stopping 14 shots in the frame.
They built off that momentum to grab a power play chance, and they capitalized as Schoonbaert fired the puck home in front of the net for a 2-0 lead. Schoonbaert netted his first of the night from Worrad and Darby Gula at the 16:59 mark of the second period.
The Stampeders pushed hard to get back into the hockey game in the third period, but a great defensive effort by Steinbach did not allow them much time and space in the offensive zone. As the game moved into the final stages, Swan activated their D into the offensive zone. The Pistons made them pay with under two minutes to go, as Heidemann fed Schoonbaert for a tap-in goal on a 2-on-1 to give the Pistons an insurance marker. Schoonbaert’s two goals gave him 27 on the season, and Heidemann and Worrad picked up assists on the late goal with 1:54 left.
INJURY REPORT
The Pistons were without captain Braden Purtill for this game, and he will be unavailable for tomorrow’s game against OCN as well as he is dealing with various upper body injuries.
SPECIAL TEAMS
The Pistons went 1 for 5 on the night, and killed off all 7 penalties they faced.
UP NEXT: The Pistons travel to OCN to take on the Blizzard tomorrow night before the MJHL takes a break for the upcoming MJHL/SJHL Showcase games in Regina next week. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 pm.