The Steinbach Pistons extended their winning streak to five after defeating the Swan Valley Stampeders 6-2 on Saturday night.
Zach Burleigh got the start for Steinbach and he was tested early, making several key saves to keep the game scoreless.
A power play would put Steinbach on the board first as Jackson Kostiuk took a pass in the slot and while he didn’t get off his grade A shot, he got enough of the puck to put it on goal and it somehow found the back of the net for his first of the season. Noah Szabo and Connor Paronuzzi had the assists.
Paronuzzi was just getting started.
Before Paronuzzi exploded offensively, it was 20-year-old Jamie Fuchs that had teammates standing and cheering for multiple reasons.
As the Stamps tried to bring the puck up the ice, their forward was caught looking down and Fuchs absolutely crunched him with a hard, clean check. With everyone buzzing from the hit, the play continued and Fuchs drove the net, taking a pass from Brett Kaiser and burying his 2nd of the season to make it a 2-0 game. Paronuzzi picked up another assist, his second point of the game.
In the second period, it looked as though Fuchs extended the lead. The BC product lowered his shoulder and drove to the front of the net as around him, the Stamps crashed the crease trying to stop him, in the process, knocking the net off. Fuchs never broke stride, never made another move, keeping his path to the front and in a singular motion shot the puck into the net, which was not affected at all by it being dislodged.
Fuchs celebrated but after a few seconds of delay, the official waved off the goal and said it did not count. The game stayed 2-0 Pistons.
Seconds after the controversial no-goal, Steinbach was slapped with a questionable penalty call that gave life to the Stamps. More penalties in quick succession allowed the Stamps to get a pair of power play goals, knotting the game at 2-2.
Paronuzzi would quickly get Steinbach the lead again as the dynamic sniper took a beautiful feed from Kaiser and went crossbar down for his 3rd of the year, putting Steinbach up 3-2 after 40 minutes.
They never looked back, taking the game completely over.
Early in the third, Spencer Penner showed off his elite skill set, keeping a puck in at the blueline twice before putting a shot on goal that was deflected by Cole Carins. For Cairns, it was his second of the season. Cale Quamme was given a secondary assist, his first MJHL point.
Penner would factor in on the next goal as he put a puck toward the net after a won faceoff in the offensive zone. While his shot was stopped, Paronuzzi was there to slingshot in his second of the game, an incredible shot, short side, extending the lead to 5-2.
At the midway point, a chippy game finally boiled over.
It all started with a hard check from Mathis Laplante, who sent a Stampeder behind over tea kettle into his own bench. The Stamps took exception and one player dropped the gloves to go with Laplante. The 18-year-old shed his mits and proceeded to fill in the Stamps player. Hard, quick jabs stunned the Stamp and Laplante never let up, eventually taking him down and earning pats on the back from rowdy teammates as he left the ice.
After that, things cooled down and if there was any doubt about the outcome, it was salted away by the captain Szabo ripping home his second of the year on a power play to make it a 6-2 hockey game.
Paronuzzi had a helper on the final goal, giving him a 5 point night. He doubled his point total and now has 10. Kaiser also had an assist, capping off a tidy 3 point night.
Burleigh was rock solid in net, keeping his team in it early until they could find offence and then standing tall, refusing to let the Stamps get any closer after Steinbach regained the lead in the second. He finished with 24 saves for his second win of the year.
Steinbach’s power play continued to roll along, going 2/6 while the penalty kill was touched up for the first time this season, finishing 2/4.
Steinbach is off until Saturday when the Niverville Nighthawks come to the HyLfe Cenre in La Broquerie.