The Steinbach Pistons rookies defeated the Selkirk Steelers rookies in a well-played affair on Wednesday night.

The Pistons got off to a quick start with two goals in the first five minutes. First, it was Noah Couch picking up his first of two on the night, followed by a bullet point shot from Mattie Boonstra made it 2-0.

Selkirk answered back to cut the lead in half before the first horn sounded.

In the second, Steinbach grabbed control and didn't look back. Couch collected his second goal of the game near the midway point of the period. Troy Beauchemin and Austin Thorarinson also scored with less than five minutes to go in the frame giving the Pistons a 5-1 cushion.

No body found the back of the net in the third period and the final score ended 5-1 Steinbach.

James Barclay, Cayden Cleland, Kieran Thiessen, Travis Penner (2), Burke Heidi, Braydon Brown and Connor Tyhy had the assists on the goals for Steinbach. 

Head coach Paul Dyck was behind the bench for the game and was impressed with what he saw. "I liked our group's effort. I thought from top to bottom our guys really competed, thought we played in all three zones, had defensive urgency and those first five minutes really set the tone. Guys played with a lot of heart."

Matthew Thiessen played the whole 60 minutes for Steinbach making 26 saves and gaining praise from Dyck. "I like Matty's game. The first six, seven minutes he didn't really see a shot and that can be tough on a goaltender. He had some shots that he had to track through traffic, high shots he had to control and I thought he did well."

Main camp continues leading up to Friday's exhibition game against the Virden Oil Capitals and fans can expect more veterans in the lineup but some rookies earned another look. "There will be guys we saw play tonight in games both Friday and Saturday's game."

Dyck also expects the older players to come out and put on a show. "Team seems to be coming together nicely. We're gonna have some guys in the lineup who have been around the block but everyone is anxious to get going. Even guys who have played two, three, four years, that first exhibition game, everyone is chomping at the bit."

Puck drops at the TG Smith Centre at 7:30 Friday night.