Pistons back in contention with trio of blowout wins

It took a couple weeks, but the Steinbach Pistons are back to their winning ways.

Back-to-back losses against the Portage Terriers a couple weeks ago had the Pistons fall to third place, but after defeating the Winnipeg Blues Feb. 17 they were able to snag first place back, if only temporarily.

It was part of a perfect weekend which extended a winning streak to six games and saw Steinbach officially clinch a playoff spot.

Those key losses to Portage came despite the return of star players Noah Szabo and Ty Paisley to the line-up, but as head coach and general manager Paul Dyck explained after the game Feb. 17, those weren’t shocking results.

“Sometimes when you bring key guys back, maybe the rest of the group kind of exhales a little and assumes that the results will be there,” Dyck said.

“Even when you throw a new player into the mix that’s a good player, sometimes it just takes some time to develop that chemistry and to understand it’s still hard every night.”

After three consecutive extra time victories over Dauphin, Winkler and Selkirk, Steinbach had three blowout victories.

“We’ve had very little continuity in our line combinations, our specialty teams had some different looks,” Dyck said.

“I feel like we’ve definitely made some progress in the second half.”

The team first nabbed a a measure of revenge over Portage with a 6-1 victory in a Valentine’s Day afternoon blowout. Heading into the game, Portage was 4-0 against Steinbach, despite Dyck noting the Pistons played potentially well enough to win all four games.

Steinbach came out and dominated the Terriers, with Brayden Barnett striking 90 seconds in to set the tone. By the time the teams left the ice for the second intermission the Pistons led 4-0 on the scoreboard and 26-16 on the shot clock.

“It was obviously important in the standings, but it was also important to break through mentally as well,” Dyck said.

Connor Paronuzzi started out an excellent week with a four assist afternoon, including nabbing the primary assist on the game winner. Paronuzzi feathered a pass perfectly over the stick of a Terriers defender during a two-on-one rush and onto the stick of Jamie Fuchs, who put the puck away to give Steinbach an early 2-0 lead.

The Pistons followed up a win over an East Division contender with a pair of lopsided victories over a East Division basement-dweller in the Winnipeg Blues. Both Winnipeg teams in the MJHL are well off the pace this regular season, with neither the Freeze or Blues above 10 wins so far this season.

Steinbach went into Winnipeg and dominated, powered by the line of Paronuzzi, Grady Hoffman and deadline acquisition Sam Zagari.

Paronuzzi set a new Pistons record for points in a game with four goals and three assists, while Zagari added a hat trick of his own as Steinbach won 10-2 while directing 66 shots at Blues goaltenders.

Winnipeg pulled starter Kyle Beilman for Samuel Couture mid-way through the first period after Steinbach scored twice, only to put Beilman back in the game in the second period after Couture gave up two goals as well.

The victory also marked River Leslie-Toogood’s first in a Steinbach uniform.

The two teams resumed hostilities two days later in La Broquerie, with a similar lopsided result, as The Pistons cruised to a 5-0 victory on billet appreciation day.

Brayden Berg was the difference-maker, scoring two goals just 15 seconds apart in the second period to give Steinbach more than enough offense to win the game.

Berg first let loose a wicked wrister off the rush, using a Blues defender as a screen, before a pretty passing play moments later left the 2005-born forward from Minnesota with a tap-in for his second of the game.

The first round of the East Division should be an absolute war in both series. With Portage, Winkler and Steinbach all in the national top 20 rankings and Niverville one of the hottest teams in the league, the current playoff match-ups could see multiple contenders eliminated in the first round.

“For us it’s not so much about where we’re placing, it’s about how we’re playing,” Dyck said.

“We just want to have good details and good habits. That’s truly where we’re our focus is at.”

The Pistons remain at the HyLife Centre this weekend, hosting the West Division leading Dauphin Kings and Virden Oil Capitals Feb. 21 and 22. Puck drop on both nights is at 7 p.m.