For a second time this series, the Steinbach Pistons tied the game late, eventually winning in double overtime, taking a 3-0 series stranglehold on the Swan Valley Stampeders.
Steinbach came out strong to open the game but it didn’t last and the ice slowly tilted to the home side. With their backs against the wall, the Stamps came out with everything they had. They moved pucks quickly, played hard along the boards, and threw their weight around.
Thanks to that effort, the Stamps opened the scoring. After a Stamps forward cut to the net crashing into Dominik Wasik with no penalty call, the puck found its way to the blue line area. The Stamps forced it back down towards the goal and after a brief scramble, buried it to make it 1-0.
It’s the third straight game the Stamps have scored first.
In the second, Swan found the back of the net again as a shot snuck over the pad of Wasik and in to make it 2-0.
Ethan Johnson, who scored a game-winning goal earlier in the playoffs, managed to score another big goal as his point shot found a way through traffic and in for his second of the postseason. Hunter Degelman who won the face-off back to Johnson picked up the lone assist.
After the goal to cut the lead to 2-1, the Stamps piled up some glorious chances but Wasik was an absolute stud. He turned away everything the Stamps threw at him from breakaways to in-tight chances, point shots to deflections. Wasik was a man on a mission and played like a beast.
As time ticked away in the third, Steinbach managed to earn a couple of power plays. While they were unable to cash in on a 5-on-3, they did score on the ensuing 5-on-4.
Langley Kruggel continued his strong playoff run by corralling a puck at the blue line. He flipped a pass over to Ty Paisley who fired a perfect slap-pass to the cutting Dawson Milliken who deflected home his 5th goal of the playoffs to tie the game 2-2.
A questionable late penalty call out the Pistons down a man and gave the Stamps a chance to score late but the penalty-killing units stepped up massively and forced the game into overtime.
The first 10-minute overtime solved nothing but the ice was definitely tilted towards the Pistons after a less-than-impressive first two periods, the team really came together in the third and in overtime, building momentum with hard working shift after shift.
In the second overtime, Paisley took over and raced into the Stamps zone. The 18-year-old who scored the game 1 double-overtime winner, came within inches of ending game 3 the same way but his hard, heavy shot cranked off the post and stayed out.
Moments after the near game-ender, Noah Szabo kept a clearing attempt in at the blue line and got the puck back down to Paisley who fired a pass across the ice to a cutting David Cote. Cote couldn’t handle the pass with his stick but managed to kick the puck forward to Milliken who turned and fired a backhander home to end the game with his second of the night and sixth of the postseason.
It was not a special teams battle but both the power play and the penalty kill came up massive when they were needed. The power play was 1-2 while the penalty kill was 2-2.
Wasik was heroic through the game but mainly through the first and second as the 20-year-old picked up his 7th playoff victory.
With the win, Steinbach is up 3-0 in the series heading into game 4 Wednesday night in Swan Valley.