The Steinbach Pistons are Manitoba Junior Hockey League champions for the second time in team history.

Matthew Thiessen stopped 28 of 29 shots as Steinbach defeated the Virden Oil Capitals 2-1 Saturday night at Tundra Oil & Gas Place.

The Pistons took the best-of seven final four games to two.

All the scoring in game six took place in the first period.

Ben Dalke gave the Oil Capitals a 1-0 lead as he scored at 14:18 of the opening frame.

The Pistons, who captured their first MJHL title in 2013, answered right back.

Riese Gaber got the equalizer just 36 seconds after Dalke scored and Brendan Martin potted the go-ahead goal 41 seconds later.

"It was five hard years in the making and obviously this is very difficult to win," said Steinbach head coach Paul Dyck. "We had a tremendous regular season and to cap it off with a championship, it feels tremendous but almost relieving to some extent. We had very high expectations coming into the season and we made it very clear as a group that this was our goal - our first goal - hopefully we're able to accomplish more beyond this. I'm so proud of these guys."

The Manitoba Junior Hockey League champions will face either the Nipawin Hawks or Estevan Bruins in the best-of-seven series for the ANAVET Cup.

The Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League final is going the distance after the Bruins blanked the Hawks 4-0 Sunday night in Estevan.

The deciding seventh game goes Tuesday in Nipawin.

photo courtesy Adi Loewen