The Steinbach Pistons pushed their winning streak to 8 straight after defeating the Winnipeg Blues 5-2 on Saturday night at Bell Mts Iceplex.

Steinbach got off to a solid start controlling the play for long stretches and was rewarded when Brady Tatro snapped off a wrister in the slot to make it 1-0 Pistons. Tatro's 15th of the year was assisted by Easton Bennett.

The scoring continued when Bradley Schoonbaert gave an excellent effort and eventually found the back of the net for his 31st of the year with the assists going to Mark Taraschuk and Austin Heidemann, 2-0 Pistons.

Steinbach made it 3-0 off a power play when Darby Gula rifled a shot from the point off the post and in for his 14th of the year. Taraschuk picked up his second assist of the period and Schoonbaert also collected an assist.

Shots were heavily in favour of the Pistons 11-4 after 20 minutes.

In the second, Jaret Lalli went on a rush and fired a perfect shot for a rebound that went right to Tanner Mole for his 5th of the year, making it 4-0 Steinbach.

The Blues battled back and converted on the power play when Devon Skoleski was left alone on the side of the net and made it 4-1 heading into the second-period intermission.

In the third, Winnipeg again scored on the man advantage as a point shot from Brendan Bartlett banked a point shot off a Pistons defender and past Matt Radomsky cutting the lead in half 4-2.

Steinbach got back in the swing of scoring on their own power play when Mark Wilson ripped a perfect pass to Riese Gaber who deflected the shot home for his 21st of the year giving Steinbach a three-goal lead again, 5-2. Daniel McKitrick also picked up an assist.

Radomsky was strong and held the fort as the horn sounded to give Steinbach another win on the road.

Steinbach's power play was very effective going 2-6 while the penalty kill finished 2-4. Radomsky was named the games 3rd star after making 25 saves on the night.

Coaches Notes

Paul Dyck was alright with the overall game but feels his team could have been better at times. "I didn't like our back half of the second or the start of the third," Dyck said after the game. "We kind of let up but we didn't really give up much. A couple of goals against that were so-so. We liked that we didn't give anything major up in way of great chances."

A couple of players that caught the eye of the coach were Jaret Lalli and Mark Wilson. "Wilson, that pass he made to Gaber was outstanding. The way he see's the ice makes him special. Lalli played very well tonight, really liked to see him rush the puck and still be strong in his own zone."

Up Next

The second place Virden Oil Capitals will visit the TG Smith Centre for the final time in the regular season on Wednesday. It's the start of a 3 game home stand for the Pistons. The Neepawa Natives and Dauphin Kings come to town Friday and Saturday.