It was not the best two periods the Steinbach Pistons have played this year but the group managed to rally from being down 3-1 at one point to defeat the pesky Winnipeg Freeze 6-3, pushing their recent winning streak to 5 games.
Things seemed a little off early in the game for Steinbach. There wasn't the same urgency the night before that saw them take down the top team in the division.
Winnipeg managed to open the scoring despite being short handed, grabbing a 1-0 lead in front of a stunned crowd at the HyLife Centre.
The next Pistons power play went more according to plan.
Noah Szabo's strong season continued and the captain managed to get his club back to even scoring his 6th of the year, using his incredible shot from the point. Connor Paronuzzi and Ty Paisley had the assists.
The lead didn't last as once again, the Freeze managed to use an odd man rush to score their second of the game and take a 2-1 lead into the first intermission.
It wasn't for lack of trying that the home team trailed after 20 minutes. They outshot Winnipeg 22-5 in the opening period but went in down a goal.
Less than two minutes into the second, the Freeze lead grew as once again, a forward managed to get lost behind the Pistons defenders, broke in all alone and scored to make it 3-1.
Winnipeg scored 3 goals on just 6 shots and chased the Steinbach starter. Christian Green was called on to play the rest of the game.
The goalie change provided a bit of a boost for Steinbach, who managed to cut into the lead thanks to Brett Kaiser who sniped his 5th of the year, making it a 3-2 game. Once again, Paisley and Paronuzzi had the assists as that line continued to pile up chances and keep building chemistry.
A turning point in the contest game when the Freeze once again broke into the Pistons zone and a hard, high rising shot looked like it beat Green clean but it clanked off the post and stayed out.
Steinbach would use the good fortune to their advantage.
In the dying seconds of the period, Steinbach earned another power play and it was Sam Noad that pushed the puck through the neutral zone, crashing the net and freeing up a puck for Kaiser who was there to knock home his second of the game with just 2.9 seconds remaining. For Kaiser, it was his 6th of the year and 3rd goal in 2 games. Noad, a big reason why the play resulted the way it did and Paronuzzi once again, had the assists.
A 3-3 game lasted all but just over a minute into the third because of Brayden Berg and his unrelenting work ethic and determination.
It was a harmless looking play as a puck was lifted toward the Freeze goalie but Berg took nothing for granted. The 19-year-old turned on the jets, fought through a stick check and managed to poke the puck through, giving Steinbach their first lead of the night, 4-3.
For Berg, who often is mentioned as one of the hardest working players for Steinbach, it was his 5th of the year and the type of goal that coaches love to see.
Berg would factor into the insurance marker just over three minutes later as he helped set up Brody Green, who wired a shot through traffic for his 7th of the season, extending the lead to 5-3.
Mathis Laplante put an exclamation point on the game by letting loose one of his trademark shots, scoring his 7th of the year from Ryan McDonald and Spencer Penner, putting the game away 6-3.
Green held the fort after coming into the game, stopping all 19 shots he faced, collecting his 9th win.
Steinbach's power play was 2-3 while the penalty kill was 2-2.
The Pistons will have a few days between games. They'll embark on a trip North with stops in Dauphin on Friday night and Waywayseecappo on Saturday night.
Fun Stats
Jackson Kostiuk was named the Pistons Player of the Month for October, where he put up 14 points in 9 games.
Brett Kaiser has 5 points in his last two games and has picked up a point in 9 of his last 10 games.
Connor Paonuzzi is riding a 4 game point streak where he's totaled 3 goals, 4 assists for 7 points.
Noah Szabo has points in 6 of his last 7 games, including 5 goals in those 7 contests.
Sam Noad has a 4 game point streak where's notched 1 goal and added 6 assists.
Ty Paisley has put up 4 points in his first two games back with Steinbach
Brody Green has points in 6 of his last 7 games.
Christian Green leads the MJHL Goals Against Average (1.35), Save Percentage (.950), has the best winning percentage of any goalie (9 wins in 10 games with his 9 second overall in the league) and tied in second for shutouts with 2.