The Pistons take a three game winning streak up north this weekend for three games in three nights for their first road trip of the season, as Steinbach faces the OCN Blizzard on Friday and Saturday and the Swan Valley Stampeders on Sunday.
Steinbach also comes into this weekend as winners of five of their past six games, including a 6-2 win over the 1st place Portage Terriers this past Wednesday. Tyson McConnell scored a hat-trick, while the red-hot Brendan Martin and Brady Tatro continued to pace the Pistons offense. Martin had 3 points (two goals, one assist) on Wednesday to move into a tie with Tatro for the Pistons scoring lead (11 points), while the Bemidji native has scored in Steinbach’s past 4 games.
On defense, the Pistons have been led by the pairing of Troy Williams and Curtis Ireland. Williams had a great night against his former team, netting four assists against Portage. Ireland has been Mr. Consistent for Steinbach, scoring 8 points in 8 games thus far.
And in goal, Matt Radomsky has been one of the best goalies in the MJHL to start the season. The Pistons have been the best defensive unit in the league so far (17 GA in 8 GP), and one of the main reasons has been the play of Radomsky (4-3-0, 2.15 GAA, .928 SV%).
Steinbach gets a boost in their lineup, as forward Tanner Mole will make his return to the lineup this weekend after a lower body injury kept him out of the past three games. Mole has four goals in five games in the early going, so expect him to continue to be a force heading up north.
The OCN Blizzard have had a tough start to the season, going winless in seven games thus far. The Blizzard traded their leading scorer Trygve Many Guns to the Waywayseecappo Wolverines a couple of weeks ago, and now navigate the MJHL with a young roster under new head coach Matt Summers. Look for forwards Tony Apetagon and Keevan Daniels-Webb to lead the charge offensively for the Blizz.
The Pistons have seen the Swan Valley Stampeders once already, defeating them 6-2 on October 6th. Swan still has the most potent offense in the MJHL, leading the league with 39 goals. Defenceman Quintin Sudom is the MJHL’s leading scorer with 13 points (4 G, 9 A), and right behind him is teammates Josh Maucieri and Josh Tripp with 12 points. Their most dangerous forward is Matt Osadick, who has 11 points (5 G, 6 A) in just 5 games played this season. Steinbach had the magic recipe to slow down Swan’s offensive play on October 6th, let’s see if they can do it again with tired legs on Sunday.
It’s a weekend full of hockey for Pistons fans! As always, you can catch every single game on HockeyTV, with Friday’s game slated for a 7:00 pm puck drop. You can also listen live this weekend to every game on the radio with your voice of the Steinbach Pistons, Dave Anthony, on MIX 96 and Steinbachonline.com.