Surging Pistons win ninth straight

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This article was published 07/02/2018 (2269 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Taking a game, or even a period from the powerhouse Steinbach Pistons these days, is  a tall order, regardless of the opponent.

But for the Virden Oil Capitals, paying a visit to the Automobile City Wednesday night to take on the Pistons, far and away the top team in the Manitoba Junior Hockey League, things were going to plan for the Oil Capitals.

After a little bus trouble coming in, last night’s game got underway 45 minutes late, and the Caps were holding the Pistons to a scoreless tie through the first 18 minutes. And then the roof fell in for the visitors. First the bus, now this. The Pistons erupted for three goals in a span of just 31 seconds late in the first and it was all they needed, adding three more in the third as they went on to bury Oil Capitals 6-1.

It was Steinbach’s ninth straight victory and incredibly the Pistons have outscored their opponents 56-9 during that stretch.

Drew Worrad led the Pistons with two goals and two assists as he now risen to fifth in the MJHL scoring race with 65 points in only 41 games.

Defenceman Mark Taraschuk had another strong game as he chipped in with a goal and two assists. Other Steinbach goals came from Austin Heidemann, with his 20th of the season; Brady Tatro his 16th; and Brendan Martin his 15th.

Meanwhile, the impressive Darby Gula, the highest scoring defenceman in the MJHL, added two more assists to his point totals as he is now seventh in league scoring with 59 points.  And Bradley Schoonbaert added three assists to the cause to remain in a torrid two-way fight with Dexter Kuczek of the Blues for the MJHL scoring title. The two are tied with 78 points, although Kuczek, with 32 goals, has one more goal than Schoonbaert.

Meanwhile, it was steady as she goes in the back end, as usual, as Matthew Thiessen was solid again making 31 saves, with his only blemish a second marker by Jeran Knorr. Thiessen lowered his league-leading goals average to 1.97.

The Pistons improved their record to 40-8-1-1, 13 points ahead of the second place Terriers and now 14 clear of third place Virden.

The Pistons return to action with two more games at home this weekend as the Neepawa Natives come to town on Friday and the Dauphin Kings on Saturday. Both those games get underway at 7:30 p.m. at the T. G. Smith Centre.