The Steinbach Pistons put the Dauphin Kings on their heels less than a minute into the game and never let them off the mat, eventually winning 5-1 back on Friday night.
First period
Prior to the game, it was announced that forward and former MJHL MVP Connor Paronuzzi was returning to the Pistons lineup, and his number 16 was back on the wing, providing the group with another offensive shot in the arm.
It look less than a minute for Steinbach to open the scoring and take the air out of Credit Union Place.
Steinbach worked the puck in the offensive zone as the line of Sam Noad, Jackson Kostiuk, and Brett Kaiser had their way with the Kings in their own zone.
Kaiser managed to keep the play alive in the offensive zone, eventually getting the puck to Zhenya Miles. Miles sifted a puck to Kostiuk, who then shot intentionally wide of the net, playing the bounce perfectly to a waiting Noad, who outworked his defender and put the puck into the wide-open net, making 1-0 Steinbach 43 seconds into the contest.
For Noad, it was his 9th of the season, and the captain has scored in four straight games, while also extending his latest point streak to five games. Miles and Kostiuk were given the assists, and for Kostiuk, it’s already his 4th assist in just his third game back with Steinbach.
It looked as though Steinbach had added to their lead a short time later, but after going hard to the net, a puck glanced off a Piston and in, but that player was pushed into the goalie, so the marker was quickly waved off, keeping it at 1-0.
Kostiuk would further pad his stats as that line went to work again later in the first, playing keepaway from the Kings, forcing them into mistakes, and managed to force some failed zone clearing, eventually leading to Kostiuk wiring home his 3rd of the year, bringing the score to 2-0.
All five Pistons on the ice contributed to that goal, with Noad and Luke Bogart getting credited with the helpers.
Steinbach controlled a lot of the play as all four lines generated chances, and starter Hunter Bauer made all the saves he was supposed to, keeping it 2-0 after the first.
Second period
In the middle frame, Paronnuzi and his old running mate Grady Hoffman were back at it, like they’ve done so many times before.
After more relentless pressure in the offensive zone, Dauphin managed to clear out to center, but that’s as far as they would get, as Bogart turned away the oncoming rush, then sprung Hoffman and Paronuzzi on a two-on-one rush. Paronuzzi fed a saucer pass over to Hoffman, who then hammered home his 12th of the season, making it 3-0 Steinbach.
More was to come thanks to some incredibly hard work by Marek Miller.
The 19-year-old was a machine on the forecheck, making the lives of Dauphin players miserable by never giving up on the play, digging out pucks and forcing turnovers.
All that hard work paid off as he walked out from behind the net and snuck a shot through the Kings’ netminder, expanding the lead to 4-0 with his 7th of the year. Liam Doyle and Brody Green had the assists.
Once again, Bauer was up to every task, turning away all 10 shots Dauphin threw his way, keeping it 4-0 after 40 minutes.
Third period
It was a somewhat low event third period, although Stienbach did their best to make things more difficult on themselves.
Penalty trouble gave the Kings a lengthy 5-on-3 opportunity, but the 3-man penalty kill unit held the fort, eventually killing off the first penalty.
As Bogart came out of the box, Noad fired a puck up to the waiting defender who broke in all alone, and he made no mistake, scoring his 4th of the year shorthanded, making it 5-0.
Dauphin managed to break Bauer’s shutout bid with just over a minute remaining in the game, the lone blemish on what was a fairly solid night all around, and despite the goal against, Steinbach exited the rink with a 5-1 victory.
The Pistons were 0-2 on the power play, and once again perfect on the penalty kill, going a strong 5-5.
Shots were 45-33 for Steinbach.
Game notes
Jackson Kostiuk has played in three games since returning to Steinbach, and he has 3 goals and 4 assists for 7 points in that span.
Luke Bogart was named the game’s 1st star after a three-point effort, and the 19-year-old defender has 4 points in his last two games.
Sam Noad has 10 points over his last 5 games.
Connor Paronuzzi picked up his first regular-season assist with Steinbach since March 15th, 2025, and assisted a Grady Hoffman goal for the first time since March 6th, 2025.
Marek Miller broke an 11-game goalless drought with his second-period marker, but even though he hasn’t found the back of the net, he has been rock solid, putting together a four-game point streak where he’s netted the goal and added 4 assists.
Liam Doyle is second in the MJHL in scoring by a defender with 30 points, one behind the leader. Zhenya Miles is 4th with 28 points, and Rory Gilmour is 5th with 26. Even Kabel is 15th with 18 points, and Luke Bogart moved up to a tie for 16th with 17 points.
Steinbach’s main six blueliners have combined for 124 points so far this year. Last season, the main seven defenders combined for 163 points.
Trade
The MJHL/CJHL trade deadline was on Saturday, and Steinbach did make a move.
Steinbach sent Hunter Bauer to the Dauphin Kings for a player development fee.
The move signals that goalies Chris Quizi and Easton Thvedt are trending towards getting back into game action.
Up next
On Friday, the Pistons will welcome in Hunter Bauer and his new team, the Dauphin Kings, to the Southeast Event Centre. Puck drop is 7:00 p.m. The Pistons will stay at home for a Sunday night contest against the Portage Terriers, with game time set for 6:00 p.m.
