Content Provided By: Steinbach Online
The Steinbach Pistons went on their first long road trip of the season and after a couple of days away, they returned to the Southeast with a pair of wins and some more swagger.
Shootout Satisfaction
On Friday, the Pistons watched a two-goal lead evaporate early in the third but thanks to a Brandon Funk goal and five impressive stops by goalie Cole Plowman, they came out with a 4-3 shootout win over the OCN Blizzard.
In what might be a record for the quickest penalty taken to start a game, Steinbach was down a man and then down 1-0 all in a span of 48 seconds.
As the first half of the period went along, Steinbach started to find their groove.
Brett Kaiser evened things up just after the midway point of the period as the 18-year-old deflected a beautiful shot-pass from Spencer Penner for his second of the year. Parker Jasper had the secondary assist.
Less than two minutes later, the Pistons power play went to work. 20-year-old Jack Cook sniped his third of the year and second power-play goal in as many games, giving Steinbach a 2-1 lead. Noah Szabo and Leo Chambers were given the assists.
Cook played a key role in another power play marker for Steinbach as he bullied his way into the Blizzard zone, and dragged all the attention to himself before dishing off to the waiting Grady Hoffman who hammered home his 3rd of the year, making it a 3-1 game. Captain Chambers notched his second assist of the night.
In the second, neither team could find the back of the net but both goalies were called upon to make some big saves, notably Pistons backstop Cole Plowman who kept his team ahead through a pair of penalty kills in the frame.
In the third, the Blizzard struck twice in just over a minute to tie the game 3-3. Both goals deflected off players in front, leaving no chance for the goaltender.
Plowman got mad and then got even.
For the rest of the night, nothing would beat the 20-year-old as he turned away the next 12 shots in regulation and overtime.
Steinbach didn’t make things easy for themselves and gave OCN a couple of golden opportunities to steal the game in regulation and in overtime by taking penalties late in both periods.
The penalty kill unit stood tall and refused the Blizzard anything so after both the third and overtime, it remained tied, meaning for the first time this year, the Pistons were off to the shootout.
The goalies traded saves through the first three shooters. Steinbach’s Brandon Funk gave his team to the lead as the dynamic sniper wired a shot top shelf, leaving it up to Plowman to give his team the win.
Like he did all night, Plowman held first, made the save and Steinbach secured the extra point with a 4-3 win.
Plowman’s night wasn’t hectic but he was strong finishing with 32 saves.
The power play was a perfect 2-2 while the penalty kill was successful 6-7 times including the massive kills at both the end of regulation and overtime.
Welcome to Steinbach, Brady Ingebritson
The newest addition to the Pistons lineup made his presence known on Friday but opened eyes throughout the MJHL with his game on Saturday night as 18-year-old Brady Ingebritson had a goal and two assists in Steinbach’s 6-3 win over Swan Valley.
Ingebritson, who became the 350th player to suit up for a game for the Steinbach Pistons in franchise history (stat from Russ Dyck), picked up his first MJHL and first Junior A goal off a beautiful sequence that showcased how special of a talent he is. He picked up the puck in the offensive zone, zipped around forcing the Stamps defenders to chase him before cutting into the slot, making a pretty move around a would-be checker then firing home a perfect shot that rang off the post and in.
Leo Chambers, who also had a big night, continued his point streak as he picked up the first assist while Parker Jasper continued his strong season with the secondary helper.
Diesel’s Dominant Day
From their first shift of the game, the line of Hunter Degelman, Wyatt Mattfield, and Jamie Fuchs caused nothing but problems for the Stampeders. The three of them put on an absolute clinic forcing turnovers, and hounding pucks and bodies all over the ice. Because of their hard work, they built momentum for their club and earned some pretty decent chances for their efforts.
In the second, Sam Noad, who played perhaps his best game in his short MJHL career to date, chased down a dump-in and worked over his man down low before freeing up the puck and firing a pass to the waiting Hunter Degelman. The man they call ‘Deisel’ made no mistake as the 20-year-old hammered home his first of the year and what would be the start of a big, important night.
Less than a minute after the 2-0 goal, the Stamps took a turnover and shoved it to the back of the net, cutting the lead to 2-1.
Just over four minutes after that, the game was tied 2-2 as the Stamps converted on a power play.
Steinbach would get the lead back on a power play thanks to Degelman’s relentless persistence in fighting his way to the front of the net. He battled through the checking of the Stamps and put himself in a position to get a piece of a Connor Paronuzzi shot for his second goal of the period. Jasper once again had another assist.
In the first minute of the third, Ingebritson and Chambers rushed in two-on-two. As Chambers carried the puck into the zone, he cut across the top while Ingebritson cut in front of him, drawing both Stamps defenders away from Chambers who used the time and space to uncork that wicked wrist shot he possesses, beating the goalie clean to extend the lead to 4-2. For Chambers, it was goal three on the year and Ingebritson, who got credit for the lone assist, picked up his second point of the night.
In the second half of the period, David Cote was allowed to walk right down into the slot and rifled home his second of the year to make it a 5-2 game. Ingebritson and Chambers capped off their strong nights with the assists.
Grady Hoffman gave Steinbch a 6-2 lead as he found the back of the net once again while on a power play. For Hoffman, he has four goals in five MJHL games. Degelman finished his night with the first assist while Noah Szabo also picked up a helper.
Swan Vally scored on a power play very late in the third but the game was decided by then as Steinbach came away with a strong 6-3 win.
Cole Plowman made the start and came away with the victory making 21 saves.
The power play finished 2-6 while the penalty kill was clipped right at the end but still managed to go 4-5.
Up Next
Steinbach returns home to the Hylife Centre for a pair of games this upcoming weekend. Friday night has the Niverville Nighthawks coming through while on Saturday, it’s the first time they’ll face the Winnipeg Blues.
Both games are at 7:00 p.m. in La Broquerie.