(4) Selkirk Steelers vs Steinbach Pistons (1)
Season Series: 8-0 Steinbach Pistons – Selkirk Steelers 0-8
Sept. 17th – 10-4 Pistons win
Sept. 18th – 4-1 Pistons win
Sept. 24th – 5-1 Pistons win
Sept. 25th – 3-0 Pistons win
Feb. 18th – 5-3 Pistons win
Feb. 21st – 7-0 Pistons win
Mar. 4th – 8 -1 Pistons win
Mar. 5th – 4-1 Pistons win
Goalie Records:
Pistons
Will Hambley: 5-0
Simon Harkness: 3-0
Steelers
Cole Plowman: 0-3
Hunter Tarves: 0-5
Pistons Stats
PP – 11/37
PK – 41/43
Top Scorers:
Jack Rogers – 68 points in 54 games
Quinton Pepper – 55 points in 42 games
Davis Fry – 49 points in 52 games
Potential Underrated Hero
Defenceman Bryce Kilbourne
Steelers Stats
PP – 2/43
PK – 26/37
Top Scorers:
Quinton Hill – 52 points in 54 games
Jordan Hughesman – 45 points in 44 games
Mathieu Catellier – 41 points in 54 games
Potential Underrated Hero
Forward Lucas Brennan
Series Thoughts:
The Pistons owned the season series in almost every category but the playoffs are a clean slate where every team starts on even ground.
Steinbach boasts perhaps the deepest lineup in the league, a power play that’s found its way, a top-ranked penalty kill, and a top-ranked goaltender duo. Winning 15 games in a row, Steinbach has shown they can win games in all different ways. The key is not to get complacent. The Pistons have wanted to develop and execute championship habits and they have been since the middle of January.
The Steelers don’t care about any of that. Despite how some of the scores may look, they feel they have been right there with Steinbach, going stride for stride right up until the end. They themselves boast some pretty good weapons on offence and defence. They won’t be afraid to be physically engaging and they’ll sacrifice the body to block shots from anywhere in the defensive zone.
Having won the right to home ice throughout, Steinbach will look to impose their brand of hockey. When they are on their game, Steinbach is a very hard team to handle. They don’t give time and space away without a fight and they make the chances against being earned the hard way. Selkirk will need their defence and goalies to hang in there, giving their forwards chances to breakthrough.
Steinbach is a heavy favorite on paper but the word “upset” is around for the reason. Many favorites have fallen. Selkirk will look to chip away at the confidence of the top seed while the Pistons will look to stay focused on the task at hand and that’s winning one game at a time, one period at a time, one shift at a time.
