Pistons beat Flyers to win MJHL pennant

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 19/02/2017 (2622 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

In a spirited affair and a playoff type atmosphere Monday afternoon in Steinbach, the Steinbach Pistons won the Manitoba Junior Hockey League pennant for the first time as they defeated the Winkler Flyers 4-2 in front of a packed house at the T.G. Smith Centre.

With their first place finish, the Pistons are now guaranteed home ice advantage through the playoffs.

The Pistons now have 91 points on a record of 45-8-1, while second place Flyers are now 12 points back with only five games to play.

Defenceman Darby Gula scored what proved to the winning goal midway through the third period and Tyler Anderson added an empty netter in the final seconds. There were close to 1,300 fans on hand for this one, the largest crowd of the season in Steinbach, as Pistons’ fans are clearly getting revved up for the playoffs.

Mackenzie Graham opened the scoring for the Pistons late in the first as he lasered a shot to the top corner from near the face-off circle.

But the Flyers tied it on the powerplay as Nolan McGuire scored 6:21 into the second. But the Pistons regained the lead just two minutes on a goal by Carter Chorney.

Winkler again tied it early in the third on a Braden Billaney marker, before Gula, who was named the first star in the game, notched the winner a few minutes later.

The Pistons outshot the Flyers 39-32 as Roman Bengert turned in a solid 30-save for the Pistons.

The Pistons have six games remaining in the regulation season, including a pair of games next weekend at Dauphin. They also have road games scheduled at Waywayseecappo and Neepawa, before returning home to host a pair of games on the final weekend as they host the Portage Terriers Friday, March 3, and then the OCN Blizzard the following night to complete the season.