Cole Plowman was sensational making 25 saves while the top line combined for eight points in Steinbach's 4-0 win over the Neepawa Titans.
The game started with a bang as the line of Travis Hensrud, Davis Fry and Ty Paisley connected to open the scoring.
After a strong defensive play by Spencer Penner, he fought to get some space and chipped a puck up the wall to Paisley. Paisley flipped a pass over to Fry who hit a streaking Hendsrud who broke in all alone and buried his 8th of the season to make it 1-0 less than a minute and a half into the game.
Steinbach came within inches of doubling the lead but a Neo Kiemeny shot towards what looked to be an open net was directed away by a Titans stick.
After a couple of chances but failing to extend the lead, the Titans started to push back, and Plowman was called upon to make several big saves. The 19-year-old did a great job with his rebound control, tracking pucks through traffic, and got his team into the break up 1-0.
In the second, the top line connected again, this time on the power play. Paisley controlled the puck behind the Titan's goal and looked to make a pass out from behind the net. When the passing lanes were taken away, the dynamic 18-year-old walked out a few steps and fired a picture-perfect shot short side for his 8th goal of the year. Fry and Hensrud were both given assists on the 2-0 goal.
Paisley would strike again as the forward broke into the offensive zone on his off-wing, picked his spot, and fired an absolute laser off the far post past the goalie's glove to make it 3-0. "That was a Mark Messier type of goal," said an onlooker. Fry scooped up his third point of the night with one assist while defender Noah Szabo picked up his first career MJHL point with the secondary assist.
Once again, Plowman would be required to make a few key saves as the Titans pushed to get on the scoreboard. The 19-year-old goalie refused to let anything past him and the 3-0 lead was brought into the third period.
Steinbach took over in third and wouldn't let Neepawa touch the puck for any long or meaningful stretches.
Langley Kruggel put the game away for the Pistons as the 20-year-old defender continued his strong play on both sides of the puck, buried his second in as many games as the lead swelled to 4-0. Leo Chambers and Nick Mikan were credited with assists.
The Pistons only surrendered three shots in the final period, all of which were stopped by Plowman as he finished the night with 25 stops for his first career MJHL shutout.
Coming off a shutout of the Winnipeg Blues on Tuesday, the Pistons recorded back-to-back shutouts for the first time this year. Over the last three games, the Pistons have outscored their opponents 20-1.
Paisley's second-period power-play goal was the only special teams marker of the game as the Pistons finished 1-4 with the man advantage and 6-6 on the penalty kill.
With the win, the Pistons hit the double-digit win plateau with a 10-1 record through 11 games which is tied for the best record in the MJHL.
Steinbach will travel to Waywayseecappo to meet the Wolverines on Saturday night.
Fun Fact:
- The three-game stretch where the Pistons have scored 20 goals and only allowed one is the best stretch in franchise history. In 2018-19, they had 18 goals for and 1 against, in 2017-18, they had 21 for and 2 against, while in 2016-17, they were 20-3 in a three-game span.
- The line of Paisley, Hensrud, and Fry is 1-2-3 in MJHL scoring. Paisley (22), Fry (21), and Hensrud (29) have a combined 63 points through 11 games. The next closest three players on the same team are from the Winnipeg Blues with a combined 39 points.