Pistons, Steelers to open MJHL campaign

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 22/06/2017 (2498 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Manitoba Junior Hockey League released its 2017-18 regular season schedule earlier this week and at first glance seems to be a favourable one for the Steinbach Pistons.

Although there is give and take, and positives and negatives to any schedule, head coach and GM Paul Dyck said when preparing and planning for the schedule, they take many things into consideration, but overall he says he is fairly pleased with the schedule.

Except for one weekend where the Pistons play three games in three days as part of a northern junket, Dyck says the schedule is reasonable, which includes enough breaks to allow for some recuperation in what amounts to a 60-game grind.

It will be a home and home series against the Selkirk Steelers that will open the campaign, beginning with the season opener in Steinbach as the pennant-winning Pistons host the Steelers on Friday Sept. 22 at 7:30 p.m. at the T.G. Smith Centre. The two rivals then meet in a re-match the following night in Selkirk.

The Pistons, as you no doubt recall, are coming off their best regular season in club history, finishing first overall with a sterling record of 49-10-1 and were the odds on favourites to claim their second MJHL crown. Of course, that didn’t happen as they were upended by the Portage Terriers in the semi-finals, as the Terriers were enroute to their third straight MJHL title, having passed through the Pistons on all three occasions.

Steinbach’s season-opening match-ups against Selkirk should be a good test as the Steelers also had a strong season last year with a record of 39-18-3.

The Pistons will again play 29 regular season home games in Steinbach and another home game during the MJHL Showcase at the Bell MTS Iceplex in December.

Steinbach’s home schedule again heavily favours weekend play with 19 of the 29 games slated for the weekend including eight on Friday, seven on Saturday and four Sunday games. Again, Wednesday is a popular night with eight games on the slate. As well, there is a rare Tuesday night home game and one Monday tilt, that being on Louis Riel Day.

The Pistons will host five straight home games during a 10-day period in October and will be in action New Year’s Eve as they take on the Steelers at 4:30 p.m. at Selkirk.

Steinbach wraps up the regular season Mar. 2 at Winkler.

With 11 teams in the league, it will again be a balanced schedule as each team will face other six times (three home and three away).

The league is also expected to announce shortly plans for an all-star game this season as well as a different qualifying format for the RBC Cup national championship.

Following the summer break the Pistons will reconvene for the annual Pistons golf tournament Aug. 31 at Quarry Oaks. The rookie camp will be Sept. 3 & 4 and the main camp will begin Sept. 5.

The Pistons will play five exhibition games, including an all-rookie game against Selkirk Sept. 6 in Steinbach and then will have an exhibition home and home series with both the Virden Oil Capitals and Selkirk Steelers, with the Pistons hosting the Oil Capitals Sept. 8, and the Steelers on Sept. 16.