Steinbach Pistons


The Steinbach Pistons are a Junior "A" ice hockey team from Steinbach, Manitoba, Canada. They are members of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League, which is a member of the Canadian Junior Hockey League.

History

Southeast Thunderbirds/T-Birds/Blades

The MJHL granted an expansion team to the Southeast Tribal Council, a group of First Nation bands in southeastern Manitoba, to begin play in the 1988-89 season. The team was known as the Southeast Thunderbirds and played out of the Notre Dame Arena in Winnipeg. The team was renamed the Southeast Blades in 1992. After taking a leave of absence for the 1996-97 season, the Blades moved northeast of Winnipeg to Sagkeeng First Nation. The Blades played ten seasons in Sagkeeng, the most successful being the 2002-03 season when they advanced to the Turnbull Cup finals which they lost to the OCN Blizzard.

Beausejour Blades

The Beausejour Blades were formed in 2007 following the sale and relocation of the team to the Sun Gro Centre in Beausejour. The move did not improve the team's fortunes; the Blades managed to win only 13 games over the two seasons of their existence.

Steinbach Pistons

During the 2009 Allan Cup in Steinbach, Manitoba, the City of Steinbach, together with Blades management, announced that the team would be relocating to Steinbach for the 2009–10 MJHL season. The team was renamed the Steinbach Pistons, in recognition of the city's reputation as "The Automobile City". Steinbach was previously home to a MJHL team called the Hawks from 1985 to 1988.
Steinbach Pistons 2013.jpg Despite the team's improved record after the move to Steinbach, the Pistons failed to qualify for the playoffs in each of their first three seasons. The team's continued poor performance and strained financial position spurred a group of investors from the local business community to purchase the Pistons in 2012 and convert it to a community-owned organization. The next season, the Pistons ended the franchise's ten year playoff drought and captured their first Turnbull Cup.
The Pistons enjoyed their best season in 2017-2018 when the team won its second Turnbull Cup, defeated the Nipawin Hawks to win the ANAVET Cup, and qualified for the 2018 Royal Bank Cup.

Season-by-season record

Note: GP = Games Played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTL = Overtime Losses, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against

Playoffs

The following is a list of the franchise's head coaches:

Gallery