STEINBACH — After two weeks of community consultation and discussion, the Steinbach Junior A Hockey Advisory Committee, together with team owner Mel Sonnenberg and Scott Unger, director of business operations, announced today that Steinbach’s newest member of its hockey community will be known as the Steinbach Pistons.

“The name-the-team campaign generated an exciting level community engagement,” said Randy Wolgemuth, chair of the advisory committee. “We had an overwhelming number of creative and extraordinary suggestions.”

While the final decision from more than 100 submissions from the community wasn’t easy, the name Steinbach Pistons received unanimous support from the committee.

“We chose Pistons because we wanted a name that would define the team while maintaining a connection to the community,” said Richard Kroeker, advisory committee member. “The word piston evokes images of energy, power, speed and velocity, characteristics everybody likes to see in a hockey team.”

Because Steinbach is known throughout the province as Automobile City, the Pistons will have a strong connection to the community both at home and on the road. The strength of the brand combined with support from fans at home will provide both the players and coaches with a source of pride when playing their away games.

The next step in defining the team is the logo design, which will be revealed, along with team colours, in the coming weeks. Season ticket sales and sponsorship opportunities are already under way and a season ticket sales event is also being planned.

For more information on how you can be the driving force behind your Steinbach Pistons with the purchase of inaugural season tickets, visit the Pistons’s website at www.steinbachjra.ca.