The Steinbach Pistons ventured out on the road over the weekend and came back with a pair of wins to improve their first-place record to 33-8-1-1. 

Another Goosegg For Rads

On Friday night, Piston's goalie Matt Radomsky went into Swan Valley and notched his 6th shutout of the season in a 3-0 win.

It was a bit of a slow start for Steinbach as the Pistons took a little time while they shook off the bus legs but still managed to outshoot the Stampeders 14-9 in the opening 20 minutes but the score was deadlocked 0-0.

Just 29 seconds into the second, Drew Worrad found a little space near the top of the circles and wired a wrist shot for his 17th of the year, making it 1-0 Steinbach. Austin Heidemann and Bradley Schoonbaert had the helpers.

Schoonbaert would collect his second point of the period when he scored his 26th of the year to make it 2-0. The power play goal was assisted by Drew Worrad and Darby Gula.

In the final frame of regulation, Schoonbaert scored his second of the game off a perfect two on one with Heidemann to seal the deal 3-0. Worrad picked up an assist for his third point of the night.

Radomsky wasn't overly tested but did come up with a few key saves while shorthanded as he finished with 29 on the night. He leads the MJHL with 6 shutouts and really boosted his numbers of late. He now boasts a GAA of 2.43 (3rd in MJHL) and .904 SV% (8th).

The power play was 1-5 while the penalty kill was perfect going 7-7.

Pretty Close To Perfect On A Saturday Night

A much shorter day of travel on Saturday as the Pistons headed to OCN for a date with the Blizzard and walked away with a solid 4-1 win.

The Pistons knew they'd have to weather the storm and that OCN would be blitzing forwards trying to make life difficult for the defenders but as a group, they held strong and made sure pucks cleared the zone.

The Pistons also knew they'd have to pay the price and that's what Riese Gaber did when he took a hit to make a play up to Tyson McConnell who went in on a two on one before snapping home his 16th of the year to make it 1-0 Pistons.

Towards the end of the period, Pistons forward Brendan Martin played the puck around the net and wasn't expecting a check from behind that came from Riley Bruce. Martin was down shortly but did manage to get up and make his way to the bench under his own power. Bruce was given a 5 minute major and a game misconduct for the hit. Martin tried to go later in the game but eventually was not able to continue.

Steinbach took advantage of the power play when Darby Gula blasted one from the point through traffic in front for his 11th goal of the year making it 2-0 Steinbach with just 4 seconds remaining in the period. Riese Gaber and Bradley Schoonbaert had the helpers on the goal.

In the second, while still on the major power play, Will Koop sniped an absolute beauty wrist shot top corner to make it 3-0 Pistons. Daniel McKitrick and Mark Wilson had the assists on Koops 18th goal of the year.

Matthew Thiessen in the Pistons goal was solid making 10 saves in the period holding the fort and allowing the Pistons to take a 3-0 lead into the third.

In that final frame, another two on one between Bradley Schoonbaert and Austin Heidemann resulted in a goal for Schoonbaert (28) and gave the Pistons a 4-0 lead. Drew Worrad also had an assist. 

The shutout bid was broken when Trygve Many Guns crammed one home from the top of the crease to cut the lead to 4-1 but that's as close as the Blizzard would get as the final horn sounded with no more real excitement from either side.

The power play was 2-5 and the penalty kill was again solid finishing 3-3. Thiessen finished the night with 27 saves.

Coaches Notes

A couple of wins put coach Paul Dyck in a good mood but it's more so how the team won in different ways. "(Friday) against Swan, I thought we played well with speed. We pushed the pace and we had good transitions. Tonight against a tough checking Blizzard team, I thought we played patient. We made sure pucks left the zone and waited for our chance. Credit our d-men, they knew they were gonna get hit but they stayed in, played tough and made plays."

An unsung hero not just Saturday night, but since coming to Steinbach was Mark Wilson. "He's a coaches dream," Dyck said post game. "He just does his job, doesn't get into trouble and plays hard. Great guy in the room and teaching the younger guys. He just does the little things every day to be a good hockey player."

Two Different Directions

While part of the team travelled back to Steinbach after Saturday night's game, the rest of the team, including Dyck and trainer Jeff Eidse were dropped off in Swan where they would be picked up Sunday to head to Regina for the first ever MJHL/SJHL Showcase weekend. A great opportunity for players to spend time around friends from other teams, for coaches to catch up with people they maybe haven't seen in years and for scouts to again see top players play each other in an attempt to get a step closer to the next level.

The Pistons players that will be attending are Bradley Schoonbaert, Drew Worrad, Austin Heidemann, Riese Gaber, Will Koop, Daniel McKitrick, Tyson McConnell, Jaret Lalli, Darby Gula, Declan Graham, Mark Wilson, Matt Radomsky and Matthew Thiessen.

Welcome To Steinbach, Luke

While it was a pretty quiet trade deadline, the Pistons did add one player, Luke Bellerose from Dryden. The 20-year-old forward, expected to be in town as of Sunday, will skate with a couple teammates on Monday before getting in a light practice on Tuesday.

Bellerose is 5"11 and 190lbs. In 24 games for the Dryden Ice Dogs, he collected 14 goals and 20 assists with 56 penalty minutes.

Up Next

Another road game when the Pistons travel to Neepawa to meet the Natives on Saturday, January 20th before having a home game vs the Winkler Flyers on Wednesday the 24th.