SPORTS FLASHBACK 2013: Historic win for Steinbach Pistons

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This article was published 09/03/2024 (498 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A late season victory over the Steelers on Selkirk ice may not be a big deal to some other teams in the Manitoba Junior Hockey League (MJHL), but for the Steinbach Pistons, it’s huge; in fact, it’s historic.

Doormats in the MJHL’s Addison Division their first three seasons, the Pistons made history by moving into third place in the division with an important 4-1 victory over the Steelers Tuesday, as the Pistons finally got past Selkirk in the standings.

It has been a steady progression for the Pistons this season, as their climb up the MJHL ladder continues unabated.

In the big win at Selkirk, the Pistons, who led 3-1 after the first, received goals from Dan Taillefer, Garrett Bruce, Kyle Rous and Dustin Loeppky. Justin Augert set up three of the Steinbach goals. Corey Koop was solid in net for the Pistons, stopping 31 of the 32 shots he faced.

Steinbach’s record improved to 25-20-3, as they are now just two points back of the second place Portage Terriers. The Pistons and Steelers are actually tied with 53 points, but the Pistons have one more win and two games in hand on their division rivals from Steeltown.

Tuesday’s game in Selkirk was the first of three games in three nights this week for the Pistons, as they hosted Neepawa last night in Steinbach and they travel to Portage tonight for another divisional match-up against the defending champion Terriers.

Coach Paul Dyck said the win in Selkirk was significant for a number of reasons.

“First off, that building is difficult to win in. It was good to see the team bounce back after a 4-1 loss to Winkler in the previous game. ”

The players weren’t happy with how they played in Winkler, Dyck said, noting The boost the team gets from reaching third place just adds confidence for the Pistons.

“Our players know they can compete with any team. But we don’t want to get ahead of ourselves in thinking about catching Portage (for second place) and will just take this one game at a time.”

Finishing second or third is vitally important for the Pistons, as it would allow them to avoid having to play the powerhouse Winnipeg Blues in the first round of the playoffs.

Steinbach Pistons captain Kyle Rous was named the MJHL defenceman-of-the-month for January as he garnered 12 points, including five goals, for the Pistons in 12 games.

Steinbach native, Isaiah Plett of the Winnipeg Blues, was named January’s MJHL goaltender-of-the-month, as he won six of his seven starts with the Blues, compiling a 2.00 goals-against-average.

The Pistons will take a break Feb.13 to host their fourth annual Fire & Ice Banquet at Friedensfeld Community Centre, with former Winnipeg Blue Bomber great Doug Brown as the guest speaker.

As always, there will be great silent auction prizes up for grabs. Being auctioned off will be three autographed jerseys, including a Boston Bruins jersey signed by Ray Bourque; a Winnipeg Jets jersey signed by Zach Bogosian and a Chicago Blackhawks jersey signed by Patrick Kane.