The Steinbach Pistons got some revenge on the Winkler Flyers with a 5-3 win on home ice, in the back half of their season opening home and home series. A night after the Flyers beat the Pistons 4-2 in their home opener, Steinbach returned the favor in their first regular season home game.
With the two former division rivals playing each other for the second straight night, the home town Pistons managed to take advantage of their home crowds energy and a few Flyers miscues.
Steinbach opened the scoring with a power-play goal just over six minutes into the game and increased their lead to 2-0 with 5:05 to play in the opening period. The Flyers responded quickly just 51 seconds later when Bryce Enns tipped in an Evan Last shot, cutting Steinbach’s lead to 2-1.
However, just 39 seconds after that, Tyler Penner restored the Pistons two goal lead. The Flyers would get that one back before the end of the period thanks to Jon Carlson’s unassisted goal with 1:40 to play before the break.
Before the end of the period, Flyers defenseman Nathan Karlowsky and Pistons forward Jonah Wasylak were each given five minutes for fighting and a game misconduct. The incident also resulted in Karlowsky being given a match penalty for striking an opponent with a helmet.
Winkler managed to kill off the entire five minute penalty and built some momentum in the second period. The Flyers tied the game at three with 5:33 to play in the period when Josh Cook buried a loose puck in front of the net, with Lawson McDonald drawing the assist. Once again, the Pistons had an answer and went back in front 4-3 with 1:08 remaining.
The Flyers had their chances in the third period but were not able to get the equalizer. Dustin Loeppky gave the Pistons some insurance with just over five minutes to play, when Flyers goaltender Dasan Sydora got tripped up behind the net allowing the Pistons to go ahead 5-3. In the end, the Flyers had their chances to get the two points, despite not playing their best hockey.
Sydora played well in his Flyers regular season debut despite the loss. The Red Deer native made 29 saves overall as the Pistons outshot the Flyers 34-27. Winkler went 0-for-4 on the power-play, including a 5-on-3 in the third period. The Flyers were 3-for-4 on the penalty-kill.
The Flyers (1-1) will return to Winkler to host the Selkirk Steelers (0-2) on Tuesday night. Puck drop at the Winkler Recreation Complex is 7:30pm. The Flyers next three games are all on home ice.