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The Dauphin Kings just couldn't get it going on Friday night in their first appearance in the MJHL final since 2014.
Steinbach came out hard and heavy, downing the Kings, 5-1 in game one of the final Friday.
The Pistons scored the first three goals of the game as Ty Paisley, Jack Rogers and Davis Fry found the back of the net to give the Pistons a 3-0 lead.
Kaden Bryant did give Dauphin some life as he scored with 36 seconds left in the second as the Kings trailed by two; however, they wouldn't get any closer.
Quinton Pepper found the back of the net twice in the third period as Steinbach skated off with the convincing win. Simon Harkness was solid in net for the Pistons as he made 34 saves. Carson Cherepak; meanwhile, turned away 28 shots.
Game two will return to Steinbach on Saturday night, a game you can hear on 730CKDM with Darnell Duff, pregame show goes at 7:00 p.m.
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The Dauphin Kings beat the Winkler Flyers in five games to advance to their first league final since 2014. The Steinbach Pistons; meanwhile, downed the Virden Oil Capitals in six games to return to the league's final just a few years removed from winning the title and the Anavet Cup as they achieved that feat in 2018.
Dauphin and Steinbach met in the final nine years ago in 2013 when the Kings won two of the first three games of the series before losing in six games. Steinbach finished four points ahead of Dauphin in the regular season which gives them home ice for the series.
Full series schedule:
Game 1: Dauphin @ Steinbach - Friday, April 29 at 7:30 p.m.
Game 2: Dauphin @ Steinbach - Saturday, April 30 at 7:30 p.m.
Game 3: Steinbach @ Dauphin - Tuesday, May 3 at 7:30 p.m.
Game 4: Steinbach @ Dauphin - Wednesday, May 4 at 7:30 p.m.
Game 5: Dauphin @ Steinbach - Friday, May 6 at 7:30 p.m.
Game 6: Steinbach @ Dauphin - Sunday, May 8 at 6:00 p.m.
Game 7: Dauphin @ Steinbach - Wednesday, May 11 at 7:30 p.m.
Dauphin leaders:
Parker Malchuk 3g, 12a
Kaden Bryant 7g, 7a
Colby Jaquet 4g, 9a
Goaltending - Carson Cherepak has gone 8-3 with a .919 save percentage to go along with a 2.43 goals-against average. He was named the MJHL's goaltender of the year at the conclusion of the regular season
Steinbach leaders:
Zach Power 8g, 12a
Braden Birnie 9g, 10a
Quinton Pepper 3g, 12a
Goaltending - Will Hambley played Steinbach's first seven games of the playoffs and although he won five games, he struggled at times with a .892 save percentage to go along with a 3.01 goals-against average. Simon Harkness has since played the last four for Steinbach winning three to go along with a .904 save percentage and a 2.51 goals-against average. Dauphin scored six times on Harkness at the Showcase.
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Doug Hedley was named the league's coach of the year and he says the group is confident heading into the series.
"The team to have success is the one that is able to execute and has the willpower to get the job done," said Hedley. "We want to get off to a good start and we're looking forward to it. It's about not accepting defeat."
Playing away from Credit Union Place wasn't something that held back Dauphin all season long as they went 19-7-6 on the road in the regular season and they have won three of five games against on the road in the playoffs. Steinbach; meanwhile, is 5-1 on home ice in the playoffs and they went 22-3-1-1 at the TG Smith Centre in the regular season. Both teams have a ton of firepower, tremendous back ends and solid goaltending. It's all set up to be a great series and the winner earns a berth to the Centennial Cup in May in Estevan.
Tickets for games three and four go on sale starting Sunday at noon till five. Sales continue from 9 to 6 on Monday and 9 to game time on Tuesday. When it comes to this weekend's games, you can tune into the Parkland Source for Sports pregame show with Darnell Duff at 7:00 p.m. each and every game.
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Breken Brezden put together another great event, this time at the 2022 United Sport Sunsational Skating Competition in Edmonton.
The Dauphinite finished first in the junior women's free skate and won bronze in the junior women's short skate.
Brezden continues to make waves across the country and her future is extremely bright.
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Fans continue to pack inside the Whitney Forum in downtown Flin Flon and they're being rewarded for doing so.
1586 fans were in attendance for game four of the SJHL final between the Bombers and Bruins on Wednesday night and it really was no contest. The Bombers put up a seven-spot in a 7-1 win.
The best-of-seven is now down to a best-of-three as both teams have two wins apiece. The series now switches venues to Affinity Place on Saturday night for game five. The series will then head back to the 'Zoo' on Tuesday for game six. Game seven goes next Friday. 1615 fans were in attendance for game two in Estevan so another packed crowd is expected as the crowning of an SJHL champion continues to near.
Meanwhile, the Brandon Wheat Kings evened up their first-round series at two with a 3-1 win last night at Westoba Place. The series will now shift to Red Deer for game five before coming back to Brandon for game six. Russell's Tyson Zimmer is on the team.
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Photo credit - Pederson Photographic
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The top-two teams in the Manitoba Junior Hockey League's regular-season standings are just two days away from opening up the league's championship series as the Dauphin Kings and Steinbach Pistons will go head-to-head on Friday night in game one at the TG Smith Centre.
Dauphin earned their spot in the finals by dispatching Swan Valley in six games and they downed Winkler in five games. The Pistons; meanwhile, beat Selkirk in five games and then took down the Virden Oil Capitals in six games.
Cordell Coleman is in his final junior season and he can't wait to get things going.
"The first two rounds went really well for us, we've been playing solid," said Coleman. "I feel like we're playing more consistently and making things happen. I'm looking forward to the experience in the finals and we're all ready to get going."
Coleman sent Dauphin to the second round with his game-winner in game five against Winkler. He stripped Ryan Monias behind the net, walked out front and snipped a perfect shot past Dylan Meilun. It was Coleman's second playoff goal this year.
"It was my first playoff goal at home so I was so excited," said Coleman. "I just want to do whatever it takes to help the team win and scoring that goal was huge."
Pistons vs Kings:
The two teams played three times in the regular season with Steinbach winning the final two contests, Dauphin opened up the short three-game season series with a win at the Showcase in Portage la Prairie
Dauphin by the numbers (playoffs)
Record - 8-3
GF - 45
GA - 28
PP% - 26.9%
PK% - 82.5%
Leaders - Parker Malchuk 3g, 12a
Kaden Bryant 7g, 7a
Colby Jaquet 4g, 9a
Goaltending - Carson Cherepak has gone 8-3 with a .919 save percentage to go along with a 2.43 goals-against average. He was named the MJHL's goaltender of the year at the conclusion of the regular season
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Steinbach by the numbers (playoffs)
Record - 8-3
GF - 44
GA - 31
PP% - 25.7%
PK% - 82.1%
Leaders - Zach Power 8g, 12a
Braden Birnie 9g, 10a
Quinton Pepper 3g, 12a
Goaltending - Will Hambley played Steinbach's first seven games of the playoffs and although he won five games, he struggled at times with a .892 save percentage to go along with a 3.01 goals-against average. Simon Harkness has since played the last four for Steinbach winning three to go along with a .904 save percentage and a 2.51 goals-against average. Dauphin scored six times on Harkness at the Showcase.
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Both teams have firepower, both teams boast solid back ends and both goaltenders have what it takes. Cordell knows how important each and every shift will be.
"They're a really good team, they finished in first place for a reason," said Coleman. "Everyone has to be rolling and get in on the forecheck. We're ready for the challenge, we know it's going to be a great one."
Coleman ended by saying he believes the team is very confident but there are some nerves.
"No matter what happens, we just have to play our game," ended Coleman.
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In front of an amazing crowd on Tuesday night, the Flin Flon Bombers came up clutch.
Brett Wieschorster scored with just 58 seconds left to give Flin Flon a thrilling 4-3 win after Kade Runke tied the game for Estevan about eight minutes earlier. With the win, Flin Flon avoided going down 3-0 in the series and they can now tie it up with a win on Wednesday night.
1554 fans packed into the Whitney Forum for the biggest crowd of the season. Don't forget, the Dauphin Kings return home for games three and four on Tuesday and Wednesday of next week. Tickets go on sale starting at noon on Sunday.
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It's official. The Manitoba Junior Hockey League championship series will begin on Friday in Steinbach.
The Dauphin Kings and Steinbach Pistons will go head-to-head with a berth in the Centennial Cup on the line.
Here is the complete series schedule:
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Ryan Gower had always dreamt of playing for the Parkland Rangers program. Growing up in McCreary, Ryan knew how much work he would have to put in to make the jump up to the AAA level and his dream came true last season when he cracked the roster.
The season was very short-lived; however, as Parkland played just five games before the season was cancelled due to COVID-19. Knowing he couldn't get on the ice because of pandemic restrictions, Ryan didn't use that as an excuse, instead, he worked that much harder off the ice to make sure he was ready for this past season and all of that hard work has certainly paid off for the 14-year-old.
Gower was one of the Rangers' leaders this past season as he scored 13 goals and added up 21 assists. He poured in another four playoff points.
"I felt I had a pretty great season, I couldn't have done it without my amazing teammates," said Gower. "I honestly didn't think I would produce as much as I did so that was a nice surprise. I just tried to keep it consistent and it worked out well."
Ryan's season with Parkland came to an end in the first round of the playoffs; however, that wasn't the end of the season in all for the McCreary native as he was invited to Hockey Manitoba's U16 Program of Excellence (POE). The first round welcomed 116 of the top U16 players in the province. Just as he has throughout his young hockey career, Gower excelled in the first round and now, he's set to join the top-39 U16 players in the province at POE's Top-40.
The top-40 camp will be held in Portage la Prairie from May 5-8. The Program of Excellence is a provincial high-performance development and selection program that leads to the formation of U16 Team Manitoba.
The final U16 Team Manitoba roster will compete at the 2023 Canada Winter Games which are scheduled to take place from February 18 to February 26, 2023, in Prince Edward Island.
"It feels really good, I know what it's like to be on the other side of a tryout," said Gower. "To advance to the Top-40, it feels absolutely unbelievable. There are so many talented players, it's a special feeling to be among them."
Gower isn't the only Ranger to be invited to the camp as Sam Swanton has also made the Top-40. Meanwhile, Brady Turko of McCreary and Easton Odut of Dauphin have also been invited, they played with the Brandon Wheat Kings this season and won the league.
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The Dauphin Hawks are off and running with what will be an extremely busy season and it's off to a great start.
Playing at a tournament over the weekend in Selkirk, they finished in second place, winning two of their three games. They handily got past Selkirk and the Storm in their two wins, winning 93-78 and 89-71, respectively.
This year's team includes Ryan Shoemaker, Darian Giasson, Easton Pfoh, Mason Chartrand, Kamdyn McKay, Leland Malcolm, Zander Leforte, Tyler Campbell, Avery Mikolayenko, Clint Lafreniere, Philip Desmarais, and Rylan Chartrand.
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They were the top two teams in the regular season so it's fitting that they will battle for a title.
Two days after Dauphin advanced to the final, the Steinbach Pistons joined them in the final two.
Virden battled back from a two-goal deficit in game six; however, it was enough. Dawson Milliken scored the game-winner in a 4-2 win for Steinbach.
Steinbach has home-ice advantage for the finals against the Kings and the finals start this weekend. Stay tuned for a full schedule and ticket details.
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