Not the best two stretches the Steinbach Pistons have played this year, but the group managed to rally after being down 3-1 at one point to defeat the pesky Winnipeg Freeze 6-3, bringing their recent streak to a close of victories in 5 matches.

Things looked a little weird early in the match for Steinbach. There wasn’t the same urgency the night before that saw them take down the best team in the division.

Winnipeg managed to open the scoring despite being shorthanded, taking a 1-0 lead in front of a stunned crowd at the HyLife Centre.

The Pistons’ next power play went more as expected.

Noah Szabo’s good season continued and the captain managed to bring his club back to its 6th goal of the year, thanks to his incredible point shot. Connor Paronuzzi and Ty Paisley had the assists.

The lead didn’t last as once again the Freeze were able to use a strange man run to score their second of the game and take a 2-1 lead into the first intermission.

It wasn’t for lack of trying that the home team fell behind after 20 minutes. They outshot Winnipeg 22-5 in the first period, but were down by a goal.

Less than two minutes into the second half, Freeze’s lead grew when once again an attacker managed to get lost behind the Pistons defenders, broke in on his own and scored to bring the score to 3-1.

Winnipeg scored 3 goals on just 6 shots and chased the Steinbach starter. Christian Green was called upon to play the remainder of the game.

The goalie change gave a little boost to Steinbach, who managed to take the lead thanks to Brett Kaiser scoring his 5th of the year, making it a 3-2 game. Once again, Paisley and Paronuzzi got the assists as this line continued to pile up chances and build chemistry.

A turning point in the competitive match when the Freeze once again burst into the Pistons’ zone and a hard, high shot seemed to beat Green clean, but he slammed off the post and stayed wide.

Steinbach would use this chance to his advantage.

In the final seconds of the period, Steinbach got another power play and it was Sam Noad who pushed the puck through the neutral zone, crashing into the net and releasing a puck for Kaiser who was there to score his second in the match with just 2.9 seconds remaining. For Kaiser, it was his 6th of the year and his 3rd goal in 2 games. Noad, one of the main reasons why the game played out the way it did and Paronuzzi, once again, got the assists.

A 3-3 game lasted just over a minute into the third thanks to Brayden Berg and his relentless work ethic and determination.

It was a seemingly harmless play when a puck was lifted toward the Freeze goalie, but Berg took nothing for granted. The 19-year-old fired up the jets, fought through a stick check and managed to get the puck through, giving Steinbach its first lead of the night, 4-3.

For Berg, who is often mentioned as one of Steinbach’s hardest-working players, it was his fifth of the year and the type of goal coaches love to see.

Berg accounted for the insurance marker just over three minutes later as he helped set up Brody Green, who drilled a shot through traffic for his 7th of the season, extending the lead to 5-3.

Mathis Laplante put an exclamation point on the match by unleashing one of his signature shots, scoring his 7th of the year ahead of Ryan McDonald and Spencer Penner, putting the match at 6-3.

Green held down the fort after entering the game, stopping all 19 shots he faced, collecting his 9th victory.

Steinbach’s power play was 2-3 while the penalty kill was 2-2.

The Pistons will have a few days between games. They will embark on a trip north with stops in Dauphin Friday evening and Waywayseecappo Saturday evening.

Funny statistics

Jackson Kostiuk was named the Pistons Player of the Month for October, where he had 14 points in 9 games.

Brett Kaiser has 5 points in his last two games and has a point in 9 of his last 10 games.

Connor Paonuzzi is on a streak of 4 consecutive games with at least one point where he has totaled 3 goals, 4 assists for 7 points.

Noah Szabo has scored points in 6 of his last 7 games, including 5 goals in these 7 games.

Sam Noad has a streak of 4 consecutive games with at least one point where he scored 1 goal and added 6 assists.

Ty Paisley has 4 points in his first two games with Steinbach

Brody Green has scored points in 6 of his last 7 games.

Christian Green leads the MJHL in goals against average (1.35), save percentage (0.950), has the best winning percentage of all goaltenders (9 wins in 10 games with 9 seconds total in the league) and is tied for second in shutouts with 2. .