The Steinbach Pistons are a Canadian

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 Junior "A" ice hockey

Ice hockey

Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...

 team from Steinbach

Steinbach, Manitoba

Steinbach is a city of approx. 13,500 people in the southeast corner of the province of Manitoba, Canada, a short distance from the capital Winnipeg. Steinbach is the largest community in the Eastman region of Manitoba. The city is located in the R.M. of Hanover and bordered to the east by the R.M...

, Manitoba

Manitoba

Manitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of . The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other...

. They are members of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League

Manitoba Junior Hockey League

The Manitoba Junior Hockey League is a Junior 'A' ice hockey league operating in the Canadian province of Manitoba. The MJHL is one of eleven Junior 'A' Hockey Leagues in Canada and is a member of the Canadian Junior Hockey League ....

, which is a member of the Canadian Junior A Hockey League

Canadian Junior A Hockey League

The Canadian Junior Hockey League , an association of Canadian Junior A ice hockey leagues and teams, formed in November 1993, emerging from the Canada West Association of Junior 'A' Hockey. The champion of the Canadian Junior Hockey League wins the Royal Bank Cup.The CJHL spans the majority of...

.

History

The team started as the Southeast Thunderbirds, an expansion team, in the 1988-89 season. It was owned by the Southeast Tribal Council, a group of First Nation bands in southeastern Manitoba, and played out of the Notre Dame Arena in Winnipeg. After three seasons, the team changed it's name to the Southeast T-Birds for one season, and then the Southeast Blades starting in the 1992-93 season.

The Blades were granted a leave of absence from the MJHL for the 1996-97 season. The team returned the following season, moving to the Sagkeeng Multiplex, located on the Sagkeeng First Nation

Sagkeeng First Nation

The Sagkeeng First Nation is an Anishinaabe First Nation which holds territory east of Lake Winnipeg in Manitoba, Canada. Sagkeeng, which was once called Fort Alexander, has an on-reserve population of approximately 3,000 people. Ojibwe is the name of the tribe that lives in Sagkeeng.There is a...

, northeast of Winnipeg. The Blades played ten seasons in Sagkeeng, their best season in 2002-03, when the team finished second in the Addision Division with 87 points. The Blades advanced to the Turnbull Cup finals (MJHL Championship series), but lost to the OCN Blizzard

OCN Blizzard

The Opaskwayak Cree Nation Blizzard are a Canadian Junior "A" ice hockey team from The Pas, Manitoba, Canada. They are members of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League, a part of the Canadian Junior A Hockey League and Hockey Canada. The team is owned by the Opaskwayak Cree Nation.-History:The...

.
The Blades were sold to Mel Sonnenburg during the summer of 2007. The team relocated to the Sun Gro Centre in Beausejour

Beausejour, Manitoba

Beausejour is a town of 2,772 inhabitants in the Canadian province of Manitoba located in the Rural Municipality of Brokenhead. It is located 46 kilometres northeast of Winnipeg just west of the Canadian Shield and Whiteshell Provincial Park...

 and was renamed the Beausejour Blades. The Blades played only two seasons in Beausejour, winning only 13 games over the two year span.

During the 2009 Allan Cup

2009 Allan Cup

The 2009 Allan Cup was the 2009 edition of the Canadian National Championship of Senior ice hockey. This tournament marked the 101st year that the Allan Cup has been awarded. The 2009 tournament was hosted by the City of Steinbach, Manitoba and the Steinbach North Stars...

 in Steinbach, Manitoba

Steinbach, Manitoba

Steinbach is a city of approx. 13,500 people in the southeast corner of the province of Manitoba, Canada, a short distance from the capital Winnipeg. Steinbach is the largest community in the Eastman region of Manitoba. The city is located in the R.M. of Hanover and bordered to the east by the R.M...

, the City of Steinbach announced that the Blades would move there for the 2009-10 season. The team has since been known as the Steinbach Pistons and plays their home games at the Centennial Arena in the T.G. Smith Centre

T.G. Smith Centre

The T.G. Smith Centre is an ice hockey complex in Steinbach, Manitoba, Canada. It features two indoor arenas and an outdoor ice surface.The main Centennial Arena is a 1200 seat arena is the building that is the home of the Steinbach Pistons and Steinbach Huskies hockey clubs, as well as the...

. Despite a steady improvement since moving to Steinbach, the Pistons finished last in the league in their first two seasons. The franchise has missed the playoffs eight consecutive seasons since its appearance in the 2002-03 Turnbull Cup finals.

The Pistons are coached by Rich Gosselin, a former star with EHC Biel

EHC Biel

The EHC Biel or HC Bienne is a professional ice hockey Club based in the bilingual city of Biel/Bienne, Switzerland and plays in the National League A....

 of the Swiss-A league. He is assisted by Paul Dyck

Paul Dyck

-Career:Dyck was drafted by the Pittsburgh Penguins 236th overall in the 1991 NHL Entry Draft. He played 10 years in the International Hockey League before going to Germany in 2001. After playing four years in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga with the Krefeld Penguins and the Iserlohn Roosters, he...

, a ten year veteran of the International Hockey League.

Season-by-season record

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

Season	GP	W	L	T	OTL	GF	GA	Points	Finish	Playoffs
1988-89	48	1	47	0
177	449	2	9th MJHL	DNQ
1989-90	52	20	31	1
282	342	41	8th MJHL	Lost Round 1
1990-91	48	8	38	2
216	347	18	9th MJHL	DNQ
1991-92	48	2	46	0	0	106	453	4	9th MJHL	DNQ
1992-93	48	16	29	3	0	224	307	35	9th MJHL	DNQ
1993-94	56	10	34	1	1
22	9th MJHL	DNQ
1994-95	55	21	30	1	3	196	271	46	8th MJHL	Lost Round 1
1995-96	56	5	49	2	0	144	404	12	9th MJHL	Lost Round 1
1996-97	Did Not Participate
1997-98	62	20	38	2	2	231	300	44	10th MJHL	DNQ
1998-99	61	21	38	2	0	234	265	44	8th MJHL	DNQ
1999-00	64	29	26
9	282	285	67	8th MJHL	DNQ
2000-01	64	7	55
2	160	405	16	12th MJHL	DNQ
2001-02	64	23	36
5	202	286	51	10th MJHL	DNQ
2002-03	63	40	18
5	265	210	85	5th MJHL	Lost Final
2003-04	64	12	50	0	2	184	389	26	11th MJHL	DNQ
2004-05	63	7	50	2	4	165	331	20	11th MJHL	DNQ
2005-06	63	18	34	5	6	198	293	47	9th MJHL	DNQ
2006-07	63	9	46	5	3	181	356	26	11th MJHL	DNQ
2007-08	62	7	50
5	165	400	19	11th MJHL	DNQ
2008-09	62	6	52
4	147	424	16	11th MJHL	DNQ
2009-10	62	13	43
6	185	308	32	11th MJHL	DNQ
2010-11	62	19	40
3	203	277	41	11th MJHL	DNQ

Playoffs

• 1989 DNQ
• 1990 Lost Quarter-final

Kildonan North Stars

Kildonan North Stars

The Kildonan North Stars were a Canadian Junior ice hockey Team in the Manitoba Junior Hockey League from Winnipeg, Manitoba.-History:During the summer of 1967, community-minded sports group purchased the Winnipeg Warriors from Ben Hatskin, renaming them the West Kildonan North Stars...

 defeated Southeast Thunderbirds 4-games-to-none

• 1991 DNQ
• 1992 DNQ
• 1993 DNQ
• 1994 Lost Quarter-final

St. Boniface Saints defeated Southeast Blades 4-games-to-1

• 1995 Lost Quarter-final

St. Boniface Saints defeated Southeast Blades 4-games-to-none

• 1996 DNQ
• 1997 Did Not Participate
• 1998 DNQ
• 1999 DNQ
• 2000 DNQ
• 2001 DNQ
• 2002 DNQ
• 2003 Lost Final

Southeast Blades defeated Winkler Flyers

Winkler Flyers

The Winkler Flyers are a Manitoba Junior Hockey League team playing out of the Winkler Arena in Winkler, Manitoba, Canada. The Flyers entered the MJHL as an expansion team for the 1980-81 season. Famous NHL players to have played on this team include Eddie "The Eagle" Belfour...

 4-games-to-3

Southeast Blades defeated Winnipeg South Blues

Winnipeg South Blues

The Winnipeg Blues are a Manitoba Junior Hockey League team playing out of the MTS Iceplex in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. They were formerly known as the Fort Garry Blues, Winnipeg South Blues, and the Winnipeg Monarchs...

 4-games-to-1

OCN Blizzard

OCN Blizzard

The Opaskwayak Cree Nation Blizzard are a Canadian Junior "A" ice hockey team from The Pas, Manitoba, Canada. They are members of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League, a part of the Canadian Junior A Hockey League and Hockey Canada. The team is owned by the Opaskwayak Cree Nation.-History:The...

defeated Southeast Blades 4-games-to-none

• 2004 DNQ
• 2005 DNQ
• 2006 DNQ
• 2007 DNQ
• 2008 DNQ
• 2009 DNQ
• 2010 DNQ
• 2011 DNQ

External links

• Steinbach Pistons website