Pistons sweep Caps to regain first place

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This article was published 25/11/2017 (2342 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A two-game weekend sweep of the Virden Oil Capitals have propelled the Steinbach Pistons back into first place in the Manitoba Junior Hockey League standings.

Saturday night, defenceman Declan Graham scored the winning goal with two minutes remaining as Steinbach beat the Caps 3-1. Will Koop, who assisted on Graham’s winner, added an empty netter.

Brendan Martin opened the scoring for the Pistons late in the first and Tyler Kirkup tied it for the Oil Capitals early in the third.

Matthew Thiessen was outstanding in net, earning his second victory in two nights, making 35 saves as the Virden outshot Steinbach 37-36 in the contest.

On Friday, Thiessen, the rookie out of Altona, now the leading goaltender in the MJHL, was also stupendous as he made 39 saves to backstop the Pistons to a 4-2 victory in the first of two games at Virden.   

Tied 1-1 after the first and 2-2 after the second, Easton Bennett and Nolan Ferguson scored third period goals for the Pistons in a 4-2 Steinbach victory. Daniel McKitrick and Jack Johnson had the earlier goals for the Pistons as Steinbach outshot Virden 46-41.

Thiessen leads all goaltenders with a 2.19 goals against average and is third with a .922 save percentage.

After suffering through a surprising and uncharacteristic four-game losing streak, the Pistons have now won three in a row and are back in first place with a 19-6-1-0 record, one point ahead of the OCN Blizzard and Winkler Flyers.

Elsewhere in the MJHL on Saturday, Swan Valley blanked Portage 4-0, Winkler beat Dauphin 7-2, Neepawa doubled Selkirk 4-2 and Winnipeg shutout Wayway 6-0.

The Pistons have the week off before heading up north next weekend for a key two-game series Friday and Saturday against the OCN Blizzard.