*Photo Contributed by Juan Carlos Wood – @photosbyjcw on Instagram
After three weekends at home, the Windigo played their first road series of March in a two-game clash with the Chippewa Steel. While a slow start cost the Windigo a win in the first contest, they bounced back with authority, posting a seven-goal victory to close out the series. The win placed the Windigo one step closer to punching their ticket to the 2026 postseason.
Friday, Mar. 13
Final Score: Windigo 2, Steel 4
The opening game of the weekend series didn’t go according to plan for Wisconsin, halting the momentum they built up in their previous series against Springfield. The Steel opened Friday’s contest with two goals across the first six minutes of regulation. This would lead to an early goalie change, as the Windigo pulled Max Larsson and put in Easton Cody, who returned to the Windigo after spending a weekend with the Green Bay Gamblers of the USHL.
In the second period, the Windigo started to turn the game around when winger Brendan Finley found the back of the net. The goal was his 13th of the season and snapped his six-game goal dating back to late January. Despite the slight shift of momentum, the Steel would score two times over the next three and a half minutes to grow their lead to 4-1.
In the third period, however, the Windigo were able to post the lone goal of the frame. After blueliner Thomas Quast fired a shot from distance, center Jacob Miller redirected the puck into the back of the net, scoring his first goal with the Windigo. Miller’s tally was his eighth total goal on the season and 31st overall point across 49 games between the Amarillo Wranglers and Windigo. The Steel would hold off any further comeback attempt, locking up their 10th win of the season.
In net, Cody finished the contest with 17 saves and now holds a 13-12-0 record, an .898 save percentage and a 3.21 GAA across 26 appearances this season.
Saturday, Mar. 14
Final Score: Windigo 7, Steel 1
On Saturday, the Windigo flipped the script on its head. Their seven-goal outburst was possible thanks to the 40 shots on net they created, which was their highest total in March thus far.
With just over four minutes to play in the opening period, team captain Alexios Georgaklis put the Windigo on the board by driving the puck down the left wing before tucking a shot into the bottom-right corner. The goal was Gerogaklis’ fourth time scoring the game’s first goal in his last six appearances and his 16th goal of the season. He now sits one goal shy of tying his total of 17 from a year ago.
Just 42 seconds before the end of the first period, Windigo winger Liam Grant would double the team’s lead. On a rush created by Quast, he fed the puck forward to winger Brayden Severin, who plated the puck perfectly for Grant to score his second goal of the season.
The second period saw just one goal, with the Windigo making the majority of scoring chances. The twine finder was scored by Windigo winger Aidan Hickok, who intercepted a pass from close range before wrapping the puck around the post and into the back of the net. Hickok’s goal was his seventh of the season across 42 games between Springfield and Wisconsin.
The third period was where the Windigo broke the score open, tallying four goals across the final 14 minutes of regulation. The first goal was fabricated off another rush where Miller placed a shot on net that rebounded out to Grant, who potted the goal for his second of the game. Grant would also pick up an assist later in the period, bringing his total for points up to six through his first five games with the Windigo.
Minutes later, winger Beau Kralovec scored Wisconsin’s fifth goal of the evening after receiving the puck from Hickok with space on the left wing to deposit the shot. The goal was Karlovec’s 10th of the season, making him the sixth player on the team to reach the double-digit goal mark this season.
After the Steel scored their lone goal of the game to make the score 5-1, the Windigo got right back to their scoring ways with their first power-play goal of the night. It was scored by Quast, who fired the puck from the point to beat Chippewa netminder Zach Stahl. The goal was Quast’s fifth of the season and 27th overall point through 49 games between the New Hampshire Mountain Kings and Windigo this season.
To close out the big win, winger AJ Bongiorno won a net-front battle to score his fifth goal of the season. He’s up to 16 points on the season, with six of those points occurring over his last eight games. The goal was assisted by defensemen Devin Berg and Cal Grilz, who used the tally to each secure a two-point performance. The same pairing recorded the assists on Georgaklis’ goal in the opening period.
In goal, Larsson bounced back in a big way, posting 32 saves on 33 attempts en route to the win. He now has an 8-2-1 record, a 2.02 GAA and a .927 save percentage across 13 appearances for the Windigo.
Standings
With the mixed bag of results from the weekend slate, the Windigo now have a 30-19-2 record across 51 games this season. The two-point series was enough to keep them in third place in the Midwest Division standings. The Windigo currently sit three points away from the second-place Fairbanks Ice Dogs and two points above the fourth-place Anchorage Wolverines. With the win and loss, Chippewa now has a 10-38-3 record across 51 games this season.
Up Next
The Windigo are set to return to The Ponds of Brookfield for their final home series of the regular season. They’ll host the Springfield Jr. Blues in another series that holds large playoff implications for both sides. The weekend slate kicks off on Friday, Mar. 20 at 7:15 PM CST before it wraps up on Saturday, Mar. 21 at 5:30 PM CST.
Tickets for each game can be purchased from the team’s website and can also be accessed using this link. If you can’t be there in person, all Windigo home and away games can be streamed on NATV. Visit nahltv.com for more details.
