The Steinbach Pistons pushed their win streak to three games with a 3-1 road win over the Neepawa Natives on Sunday night.

It was a dream start for Steinbach when less than two minutes in, Tanner Mole stole the puck away from Neepawa and walked in all alone and buried his 9th of the season to give the Pistons an early 1-0 lead. 

The Pistons had a couple of chances as the period went along but it wasn't until the final minutes that the action really picked up.

With under three minutes to go in the opening period, Steinbach was sent to their first man advantage of the night and it didn't take long for them to make Neepawa pay.

It took only 9 seconds for Mole to win the face-off back to Declan Graham who fired a shot towards the net that was perfectly tipped by Max Neil for his 9th of the season to expand the lead to 2-0.

Things picked up for Neepawa after the 2-0 goal and they pushed trying to find a little momentum heading into he break but Matt Lenz stood tall with a number of in tight saves while Neepawa crashed the crease.

Steinbach did take a pair of minor penalties and would start the period down two men.

Neepawa managed to get on the board with under a minute played in the second period. After the first Pistons penalty expired, Neepawa scored to cut the lead to 2-1.

The rest of the second period had a few chances for both sides while both teams had their opportunities on the power play but neither team could cash in so it remained 2-1 heading into the third.

Steinbach managed to slowly take over the game late in the second and it continued into the third as the Pistons showed off strong play in all three zones but despite their strong play, remained up by only a goal.

That was until Ty Naaykens struck.

After a good looking rush into the Natives zone, a shot was fired on goal and it appeared that the Natives goalie had it covered but the official had a birds eye view on the loose puck and the play was allowed to continue. Naaykens managed to free up his stick and tap home his 15th of the year.

The goal was unassisted but the whole line deserves credit for creating the 3-1 goal that put the game away.

Lenz was strong again as he finished with 24 saves. Since returning from injury after Christmas, Lenz is now 3-0 and has made 66 saves on 70 shots since the break, including his first shutout of the year on New Years Eve.

The power play finished 1-3 while the penalty kill was excellent going 5-6.

It's a small sample size but in the three games since Christmas, the power play is a combined 3-11 while the penalty kill is an eye-popping 12-14.

The Pistons mini three game road trip wraps up on Tuesday night when they visit the Selkirk Steelers before a massive home and home set vs the Portage Terriers starting Wednesday at the TG Smith Centre and finishing up on Saturday at Stride Place in Portage la Prairie. The Saturday night game will be on MIX 96 and SteinbachOnline.com with the pre-game show at 7:15 pm and puck drop at 7:30 pm.