Content Provided By: Steinbach Online
It was a goal-scoring parade Friday but the good times didn’t last as the Steinbach Pistons ran out of gas Sunday, splitting a weekend set of games with a win and a loss.
Putting the Terriers in the Dog House
From the drop of the puck on Friday night, the Pistons ran all over the Portage Terriers, dominating them on the scoreboard and in the hitting department en route to a lopsided 6-1 victory.
Just over thirty seconds into the game, Brayden Berg potted his 4th of the season putting Steinbach up 1-0 and giving a packed house at the HyLife Centre something to cheer about quickly. Brandon Funk was given credit for the lone assist.
Less than 90 seconds later, Brady Ingebritson notched his second goal in as many games as he walked into the Terriers zone and wired a wrister home for his 6th of the year. Leo Chambers picked up one assist as did Grady Hoffman, 2-0 Steinbach just 2:01 into the game.
Not done yet, Steinbach’s Kyle Kudurna scored his first as a Piston and first in the MJHL making it a 3-0 game with just over five minutes to go in the first period.
La Broquerie’s own Eric Cote who was making his MJHL debut collected his first MJHL point with an assist. Jamie Fuchs also added a helper on the goal that chased the Terrier starting netminder.
In the second, Portage came out stronger but Steinbach’s Beck Liden was up to the task.
Liden turned away some glorious chances for the Terriers including a clear-cut breakaway. Portage recorded 7 shots in the period but Liden turned them all away in what would be his strongest performance of the season.
Noah Szabo broke the spirits of the road team further as the 19-year-old sifted a point shot through on the power play that found the back of the Terrier net with just a single second left to be played in the period. The 4-0 backbreaker was assisted by Kudrna and Chambers.
In the third, another power play opportunity saw Hoffman break a 6-game goalless streak as the MJHL’s rookie scoring leader snapped home his 15th of the year from Chambers and Szabo to extend the lead to 5-0.
Jackson Kostiuk scored the final goal for Stienbach as he broke out of a 9-game goalless slump, potting his 4th of the year from Berg and Parker Jasper.
Portage broke the shutout with under three minutes to go but at that point, it was too little too late.
The 6-1 win is the second by that score this year for Steinbach who improved to 3-1 against Portage this season.
Liden picked up the win making 28 saves.
The power play was 2-2 while the penalty kill was a perfect 4-4.
Sputtering on Sunday
After a day off, the Pistons battled hard for 40 minutes but ran out of gas in the third, eventually falling to Neepawa 6-3.
For a second consecutive game, it was Brayden Berg who got Steinbach on the board early, this time scoring just 19 seconds into the contest as he knocked home his 5th from Brett Kaiser and Jackson Kostiuk.
Neepawa responded quickly, knotting up the game just seconds later before gaining the lead minutes after that.
Steinbach pushed back and managed to tie the game thanks to a point shot from Liam Doyle that evaded traffic in front caused by Berg. Doyle’s 2nd of the campaign made it a 2-2 game, which is how the teams went into intermission.
In the second, details started to slip for Steinbach as they pushed hard despite being down-bodies on the backend.
A blocked shot in the offensive zone turned into a breakaway for the Titans that they did not squander, grabbing the lead again 3-2.
Once again Steinbach battled back as Cole Cairns went streaking into the offensive zone and wired a beautiful shot under the crossbar for his first MJHL goal. The 3-3 marker was assisted by Doyle and Kyle Kudrna.
Early in the third, Steinbach carried the play and piled up chances but just couldn’t get the puck over the goalline.
Neepawa did manage that as they scored just over five minutes into the frame to grab a 4-3 lead.
Another goal a few minutes later shorthanded extended the lead to 5-3 and they’d put the cherry on top of a good night for the home side with their 6th of the night with five minutes to go in the game.
The shots were miscounted badly as it says 21-18 Steinbach but both teams had more chances than that.
Steinbach’s power play again had chances to make a difference but failed to click going 0-5, meanwhile, the penalty kill did its job going 5-5.
Up Next
A three-game home stand starts on Wednesday against the Niverville Nighthawks. Special La Broquerie Habs-inspired jerseys will be worn on Friday night vs the Winnipeg Freeze and Saturday night against the Winnipeg Blues.