Content Provided By: Steinbach Online
Steinbach carried the play for most of the game and it showed on the scoreboard at the end of the night as the Pistons ran away with a 7-1 win over the Winnipeg Freeze on Wednesday night in Winnipeg.
The wind wasn’t the only thing whipping around in the evening as the Pistons played keep-away from the Freeze for most of the first period. Time after time, the Freeze tried but couldn’t get the puck out of their own zone. The Pistons would stuff the clearing attempt and generate a scoring chance.
After a couple of solid looks and after a power play expired, a bouncing puck in front ended up finding the stick of Mathis Laplante who knocked it home to make it 1-0 Steinbach.
For the Quebec product known as “Le Bon Garçon”, it was his 10th of the season. Brayden Berg and Connor Paronuzzi had the assists but it was also aided by Shane Burns, who kept the puck in at the blueline, and Grady Hoffman, who hit Paronuzzi with a cross-seam pass before it went to Berg and then Laplante.
The Freeze had a glorious chance to tie the game up later in the first after a great stretch pass sprung a forward on a breakaway, but Zach Burleigh came up with a terrific save to keep his team up 1-0.
Winnipeg would knot the game before the period was through after a clean faceoff win won the puck to the point and a bullet shot beat a screened Pistons netminder, and it brought the game to 1-1.
There must have been some great coaching or a rousing speech from Head Coach Paul Dyck or Assistant Coach Calvin Bugyik between periods as the Pistons came out with a vengeance.
Brody Green got the scoring party started as the 17-year-old scoring machine walked into the zone just over a minute into the period and wired a perfect shot through the goalie and in to make it 2-0. Laplante and Spencer Penner picked up the assists. For Green, it gives him 12 goals in 25 games which his one off his pace from last year when he hit 13 goals as a rookie in 54 games.
It was 2 months to the day that Grady Hoffman was knocked out of the lineup and the 19-year-old wasted little time having an impact in the game. The opening period saw him play in all situations from five-on-five, power play, and penalty kill, plus he brought some physicality as well. In the second, he was rewarded with a power play goal, his 2nd of the season to put the Pistons up 3-1. Paronuzzi and Burns were given credit for the assists.
“It feels good to be a hockey player again,” Hoffman said before the game with that big trademark smile beaming.
More goals were to come as defender Zhenya Miles rushed up the ice and brought the puck right to the doorstep and while his bid for his first MJHL goal was denied, Brett Kaiser refused to be turned away as he buried his 9th of the campaign with Miles and Laplante cashing in with assists.
Another power play roduced the next Pistons goal as Berg fought his way to the front of the net and Paronuzzi hit him with a perfect shot-pass for a deflection and Berg celebrated his 11th of the year, making it a 5-1 game.
Jamie Fuchs, who loves playing in Winnipeg, scored again in the Hockey For All Centre as the 20-year-old wrecking ball went right to the front of the net and punched in his 11th goal from Aaron Krestanowich and Luc DeGagne, who extended his personal point streak to 3-games with that helper.
Things became scrambly in the third and both teams piled up the penalties.
Steinbach’s penalty killers managed to get the job done throughout the night and their power play cashed in with the 7th goal of the game, once again Fuchs on the doorstep to knock home some loose change and give him 12 goals on the year. Burns with the point shot his Sam Noad in front who knocked it free for Fuchs to walk about and tuck in the final goal of the contest.
Burleigh was solid throughout the game making several key stops including turning away a Freeze penalty shot as he picked up his 5th win of the year after making 26 saves.
Special teams were exactly that on the night as the power play finished a strong 3-6 and the penalty kill was an exceptional 8-8, which included, for various lengths of time, three 5-on-3’s against.
The Pistons are set for one more road game on Saturday night in Dauphin before finally returning home to the HyLife Centre in La Broquerie for a return contest against the Freeze on Sunday night.
News & Notes
Steinbach was without forward Jackson Kostiuk and defender Reece Gault, both of which are at camp for Team Canada West which competes in the World Junior A Challenge. The roster announcement will come on December 5th and the tournament starts on December 9th.
Also not in the game was Ty Paisley, who was serving game 3 of a 3-game suspension, and Brayden Barnett, who served his 1-game suspension.
Cole Cairns was a late scratch and Noah Szabo remained out.