Photos: (Courtesy David Rowe & Anchorage Daily News) Team celebrates after the victory on Saturday, May 10, in Anchorage; Ronnie Hill (#13) crashes the net; Beau Altman (#1) makes a save with Cashen Naeve (#24) defending; Teddy Richardson (#25) battles for the puck. Michael Ryan (#8) screens the goalie.
Weekend Recap: For the first time in franchise history, the Windigo claimed the Robertson Cup Midwest Division playoff championship. After winning games one and three at home on May 2 and 4, the best of five Midwest Division championship series moved to Anchorage Alaska for games on May 9 and May 10 (if necessary). The Windigo needed to win one of the two possible games to advance to the Robertson Cup semifinals. Despite carrying the play in much of the game on Friday, Anchorage prevailed 4-2 (with their 4th goal being of the empty net variety). The elimination game on Saturday was hotly contested. The Windigo prevailed 2-1 to advance. After losing to the Minnesota Wilderness in the second round during the Windigo’s inaugural season in 2022-23 and losing to Anchorage in the second round in 2023-24, the victory to advance to the Robertson Cup semifinals served as an exciting milestone in franchise history.
Friday, May 9 – Windigo 2 at Anchorage 4 : After a scoreless first period in which the Windigo outshot Anchorage 12 to 11, Anchorage broke the ice 31 seconds into the second period. Aaron VanWie received a pass from a teammate from behind the net and scored an easy goal while Windigo netminder Beau Altman was expecting the puck to emerge from the other side of the net. That goal delighted the 4,745 boisterous Wolverine fans in attendance at the Sullivan Arena in Anchorage, AK. Luke Baker tied it for the Windigo with 8:09 remaining in the second period. Declan Burns executed a quick transition from his defensive zone by passing the puck up to Baker as he drove up the boards through the neutral zone. As he entered the offensive zone, Baker moved from his left to his right across the top of the faceoff circle. He used Ben Aucoin, who was driving to the net, as a decoy and released a shot that beat Anchorage goalie high to his glove side. Anchorage took advantage of unforced Windigo turnovers in their own end to score two goals to close the second period with a 3-1 lead. Anchorage outshot the Windigo 13 to 9 in the second. Seeking a comeback, the Windigo applied sustained pressure on their hosts throughout much of the third period, but were unable to solve Anchorage goalie, Michael Manzi. The Windigo pulled Altman with five minutes remaining in favor of a sixth attacker. Just as Altman reached the Windigo bench, Anchorage gained control of the puck and headed up ice. The resulting empty net goal put them up 4-1 and essentially clinched the game for Anchorage. Hunter Hayes (from Rio Treharne) was able to score with 2 minutes remaining, but that was all the Windigo could muster. The Windigo outshot Anchorage 13 to 8 in the final frame. Beau Altman suffered the loss in net with 29 saves. Manzi earned the win making 32 saves.
Saturday, May 10 – Windigo 2 at Wolverines 1 : The Windigo jumped out to a quick start and applied consistent pressure on Wolverines netminder, Michael Manzi. Shots on goal favored the Windigo 16 to 8 in the opening frame. Hunter Hayes put the Windigo on the board nine minutes into the first period. Braydon Beahm won a puck battle along the boards at the hash mark in his defensive zone. He headed up ice and spotted Hayes exiting the zone to the far right side. Beahm pass the puck to Hayes. Hayes carried the puck into the offensive zone and cut across the top of the faceoff circle then released a shot that found its way under the arm of Manzi. Rio Treharne scored his first playoff goal a few minutes later. The play started deep in the Windigo zone with Nate Farrell rimming the puck along the boards from one corner to the far side. Braydon Beahm chipped the puck high off the glass and out of his defensive zone. Hunter Hayes caught up to the puck just as it reached the faceoff circle in the offensive zone. He faked a slapshot and passed the puck across the low slot towards Treharne, as he was driving to the net through the middle of the slot. The puck caromed off a Wolverine defender’s skate and then the left skate of Treharne and into the far side of the net. Anchorage cut the Windigo lead in half at 18:21 of the first period. Romulus Rio De Dios one-timed a loose puck as it slid towards the top of the faceoff circle. The puck made its way through heavy traffic in front of the net and past Windigo goaltender, Beau Altman. That would conclude the scoring for the balance of the game. Perhaps for the first time in the series, the Wolverines took over a sustained lead in puck possession, shots on net and quality scoring chances. They outshot the Windigo 17 to 6 in the second period. Several of those shots came on a power play during the last couple of minutes of the second period. The Windigo killed off 1:16 while being two men down at the end of second period. Perhaps that provided the inspiration the Windigo needed to continue to sustain heavy pressure from the Wolverines during the third period, including another successful penalty kill. The Wolverines outshot the Windigo 10 to 6 in the third, but Altman was up to the task. Altman recorded the win in net, making 34 saves in the contest. His efforts secured him NAHL Second Star to the Night honors. Manzi made 26 saves in a losing effort for Anchorage.
Coach’s Comments: Head coach John Mitchell had the following to say after the thrilling victory on Saturday, “I am so proud of the guys tonight for battling hard all game long. Anchorage is a very good team and a difficult team to beat in their own building. We don’t play many games on Olympic sized sheets, and it certainly requires some adjustments. We were quick to execute our transitions and that created scoring opportunities for us. The pressure of an elimination game is immense, and our guys handled that pretty well. I am happy for them to be moving on in the playoffs. They’ve worked hard all season and deserve the opportunity to play for the Robertson Cup. Beau Altman was huge in net for us. He made key saves when we needed them. Hunter Hayes came up big for us tonight and played a key role in both goals. Defensively, we moved the puck out of our zone pretty effectively for the most part. I thought we actually played a better game on Friday and out chanced them in that game. Manzi played well for them, but we did miss some open nets that could have turned the tide of that game in our favor. Now we look forward to the semifinals in Blaine. After the long trip back, we’ll shift our focus to preparing for whomever we face there.”
Up Next – The NAHL Robertson Cup semifinals are a best of three game series and will be held at the Fogerty Arena in Blaine, MN. Teams are seeded based on their regular season record. As a result, the Windigo are seeded third and take on the Lonestar Brahams in the semis. Their first games are on Friday, May 16, and Saturday, May 17, at 7:30pm CDT. If necessary, game three of the series will be held on Sunday, May 18, at 6:30pm CDT. If the Windigo advance to the finals, the single Robertson Cup championship game will be played in Blaine, MN, on May 20. Watch the games live, or on demand, on NATV. Subscribe at www.nahltv.com. Let’s go Windigo!