Hub game recap

On the back of two stellar performances from goaltender Dominik Wasik, the Steinbach Pistons are one win away from moving on in the MJHL playoffs after taking back-to-back games against the Winkler Flyers to lead the series 3-1.

Game 3:

Coming off a gutsy road win, the Pistons used their home crowd, a third-period insurance goal, and some monumental saves by their goaltender to win a 3-1 thriller.

In the first period, both teams came out flying after having a couple of days off. 

Shots in the opening period were 16-12 for the Flyers but it was the home side getting the lone goal.

On a power play, some great work by the Pistons to move the puck around the offensive zone eventually led to Ty Paisley finding a lane to walk in and rip a pass to Kirk Mullen who had fought his way to the front of the net. The 19-year-old Mullen buried his first of the post-season to put Steinbach up 1-0. Davis Fry, playing in his first game of the series after battling injury, picked up the secondary assist.

In the second, things leveled out as both teams found their grove and made life difficult on the other with hard, grinding play up and down the ice. 

Winkler managed to tie the game 1-1 with just over three minutes to go in the second.

Travis Hensrud stole the lead back with under a minute and a half to go in the frame. The 20-year-old Northern Michigan commit stripped a Flyers defender below the goalline, walked out in front, and put a perfect shot right under the crossbar for his second of the playoffs, restoring the Piston's one-goal lead.

In the third, the Flyers sent wave after wave of pressure into the Piston's zone but the defenders and most importantly, Dominik Wasik, refused to bend.

Ian Amsbaugh gave his team a bit of breathing room near the midway point as the 20-year-old walked down the half wall and slipped a puck through the goalie and in for his second of the postseason. Warren Clark and Langley Kruggel were given the assists on the 3-1 goal.

The rest of the way, it was all Winkler. Steinbach is credited with 9 shots to Winkler's 15 but it felt as though the entire period was spent in Steinbach's end.

Dominik Wasik refused to blink.

He finished with 38 in a spectacular performance that gave his team their first lead in the series 2 games to 1.

The Pistons power play was 1-5 while the penalty kill was 3-3.

Game 4

For a second straight night goals and the offense was hard to come but the little offense that was found was discovered by the Steinbach Pistons who capitalized on a second-period goal to win 1-0 on Thursday.

 Dominik Wasik earned his first playoff shutout as he made all 23 saves he was asked to make. 

On top of the goaltender, the team's attention to detail defensively frustrated the Flyers all night long and kept a capacity crowd in Winkler quiet through long stretches of the game.

Having played so much hockey coming into the game, both teams started a bit slow. Passes were not as crisp, and speed was night as high but the emotions ramped up throughout the first.

A solid road period for Steinbach kept things scoreless.

Early in the second, Nick Mikan broke the scoreless game with his first of the playoffs.

The play started in the Steinbach zone where Langley Kruggel showed off his elite vision and awareness after being flushed out from behind the net by a Flyers forechecker. The 20-year-old Kruggel used his feet to create some distance from the checkers before filtering a pass to Landon Roberts. Roberts quickly zipped a pass to Leo Chambers who broke in on a shortened two-on-one with Mikan. Chambers fed it over and Mikan buried to put his team up.

Steinbach played smart and worked hard through the rest of the period, earning a couple of power play chances where they couldn't find the mojo to extend the lead but did take the Mikan goal into the break to lead.

In the third, Wasik was called upon to make some key saves, which he did. The penalty kill needed to step up, which it did and the Pistons worked the clock down to zero, still holding on to that 1-0 lead.

Wasik was not as busy as the previous night, finishing with 23 saves for his first shutout. 

Steinbach outshot winkler 29-23 in the game. The power play was 0-6 while the penalty kill was 3-3.

Up next

With a 3-1 series lead, Steinbach returns home for game 5 at the TG Smith Centre on Friday night with a chance to close out the series. The puck drops are at 7:30 pm.