It was a thrilling, back and forth, tight checking, edge of the seat game 6 between the Steinbach Pistons and the Winnipeg Blues on Easter Sunday and when the dust settled, it was the Pistons coming away with a 3-2 win and ending the series 4-2.

Unlike the first five games of the series, game 6 was more wide open with both teams trading chances early and often.

Steinbach goalie Matthew Thiessen was tested early when the Blues broke in on a two on one but turned away Brady Castellano with a great kick save to keep the game scoreless.

Things continued to be back and forth as both teams exchanged several odd-man rushes that led to some "ooh's" and "aah's" but both goalies stood tall and turned all shots that hit the net aside.

As the period began to wind down, tempers flared and the Blues took a penalty near the Pistons bench. It took only 11 seconds for Steinbach to get on the board after the penalty. 

A clean faceoff win by Drew Worrad set up Mark Wilson at the point. Wilson faked a shot and passed down to Braden Purtill near the hash marks along the boards. As the pass was being made, Brady Tatro moved towards the front of the net to create a screen. Purtill took the pass from Wilson and ripped a slap shot that deflected off the leg of Tatro and into the net giving the Pistons a 1-0 lead.

Tatro's 4th goal of the playoffs continues his recent hot streak as he now has 3 points in his last two games and 6 points in his last 4 games. Purtil and Wilson picked up the assists.

Still, in the first, the Blues would have a chance on a man advantage but the Pistons cut down shooting and passing lanes and were able to kill off the minor penalty with no damage done. 

Steinbach held the edge in shots 14-7 and on the scoreboard, 1-0 after 20 minutes.

Both teams cranked it up a notch in the second.

The Blues pushed for the equalizer and were rewarded after a shot from a distance deflected off a Pistons defender and got past Thiessen to tie the game 1-1 less than three minutes into the middle frame.

The Pistons regained their lead on another power play.

After the Blues dumped the puck out, Darby Gula hustled back to retrieve it behind his own net. Purtill came off the bench and curled into his own zone giving Gula a passing outlet. Purtill turned on the jets and blazed a trail right through the neutral zone.

A hard, deep cut threw off the Winnipeg defenders timing and allowed Purtill to slip right through and go in on a partial breakaway. The captain faked a shot and went around the Blues goalie and tucked in a backhander for his 5th of the playoffs and giving the Pistons a 2-1 lead.

It's the second consecutive game that Purtill had split the Blues defence and finished on a breakaway. Purtill now has 5 goals and 5 assists in 10 playoff games.

At that point of the game, Steinbach was 2-2 on the power play.

Speed was on full display as Winnipeg and Steinbach kept generating chances off rushes missed by the other team. Several times, Steinbach had odd-man rushes that resulted in good shots that just whistled wide and then sent the Blues off the other way for chances of their own that were either turned away by Matthew Thiessen or by strong defensive play by all six Pistons d-men.

A bit of firework's at the end of the period as Riese Gaber got tied up with Blues forward Kelton Sutherland behind the play. Both players traded facewashes and would receive off-setting penalties.

Steinbach held a 2-1 lead after two periods but managed to be outshot in the second 16-15.

With Winnipeg's season on the line, the Blues came out in the third looking to get on the board quickly but again were stopped by Thiessen's strong play. 

The Blues went back to the power play less than four minutes into the third but again, the penalty killers came up huge, denying anything glorious and keeping it a 2-1 hockey game. 

As the period approached the midway point, the Pistons top line, which was buzzing all night long, caught a break when a Blues forward who was covering for a pinching defender, bobbled a puck at the Steinbach blueline. Drew Worrad stole it and blazed a trail into the Winnipeg zone while a heads up play from Bradley Schoonbaert distracted the only defender back as Schoonbaert rushed towards the net. Worrad cut from outside in and held onto the puck, pulling it around a diving defender and burying a wrist shot top shelf to give Steinbach a two-goal cushion with only 10 minutes left in regulation. 

Worrad's unassisted goal was the 3rd marker of his playoff run.

Pistons then slowed things down and began to lean on the Blues defenders below their goal line.

The line of Will Koop, Riese Gaber and Brendan Martin went to work with around five minutes remaining in the game. The line kept the Blues hemmed into their own zone with relentless puck pursuit and flat out refused to be outworked or even give the Blues a hope of clearing the zone.

While on their heels, the Blues were forced to take out Gaber as he slipped a check and broke towards the net. Despite it being a somewhat obvious call, the Blues bench was incensed and 9 seconds after the original call, the bench received a minor penalty, putting Winnipeg down two men with just 3:15 remaining in the period.

Steinbach held on to the puck and controlled while time slowly ticked away on the Winnipeg season.

The Blues managed to kill off both penalties but had less than a minute to try and find two goals.

They would catch a break as Tanner Mole took a hooking penalty coming back through the neutral zone and with the Blues goalie sitting on the bench, they had a 6 on 4 advantage.

The PK unit again gutted out 45 seconds of short-handed duty with Mark Wilson blocking a couple of shots from the point.

Eventually, the Blues did score to cut the lead to 3-2 but only 8.6 seconds remained at the game.

Winnipeg left their goalie on the bench but Worrad won the draw, Wilson hesitated for a couple seconds before knocking it off the glass and out as time expired sending the Pistons back to the Turnbull Cup Finals for the 3rd time in 4 years.

Matthew Thiessen was stellar again in the crease finishing with 33 saves on his way to being named the games 1st star.

The power play was key to the victory as it finished 2-5 but also killed off key minutes later in the third after a couple of undisciplined penalties by the Blues. The penalty kill managed to keep a lethal Winnipeg power play decently quiet finishing 3 for 4 on the night.

The Steinbach Pistons will mee the Virden Oil Capitals in the Turnbull Cup Finals which unofficially with start Friday night in Steinbach.

Coaches Notes:

Paul Dyck was relieved after the game as this series showed the character of his group. "I told the guys (right after the game) that we haven't played 6 games in a row like this all year. I mean, every game was so tight, you had to earn your ice, you have to deal with adversity, you deal with bad bounces and more. We really matured as a group. I think we calls don't go our way, we haven't always responded so well but I thought we really just focused on our game. I'm really proud of our guys. It's really hard to win this time of the year but it's so rewarding."

Dyck knows it took the entire roster to get to this point and with that, everyone feels a part of this particular playoff run. "You need everybody at this time of year. You build depth for a reason because of this time of year, bodies are worn down and we need the energy level to be high, we need everyone to contribute. Thankfully, we are in a position with four lines and six defenders that we trust on any given night."

The Pistons also have a belief that anyone can be the hero and in game 6 it was Drew Worrad who scored the eventual game-winner. "When he scored that goal, some of the guys almost hit the ceiling on the bench. Obviously, it's exciting but I mean, man for man, I think everyone left their feet."

Veteran Players Happy But Not Satisfied

Captain Braden Purtill has been on a mission so far in these playoffs but he knows the hardest test has yet to come. "We know it starts for real now. It was a real battle of a series and to make it through, we know what we have to do next."

Mark Taraschuk is looking forward to a couple of days rest before cranking things back up in what's sure to be an entertaining, hard-fought final. "We got some bumps and bruises so a little time off will be nice. "I'm glad this is over, it's a bit of a sigh of relief. We get a couple days off to rest up, we do need it. Virden's got a deep lineup, good goaltending and we'll start to get prepared as best we can. We have to keep our game simple and consistent and just be ready come Friday."

Up Next

It's believed that the MJHL will release the full schedule either Monday or Tuesday but it's beleived game 1 will be Friday in Steinbach with game 2 Sunday in Virden.