Midwest Division Semifinals Matchup Set – Windigo to Host the Chippewa Steel on April 18-19
Eagle River, WI, April 14, 2025
Photos (Courtesy Shelley Schmidt Photography): Cover – Lucas Szyszka makes one of 36 saves on Friday, April 11; Samuel Misak shoots on net; Nate Farrell pursues a Jets player
Weekend Recap: The Windigo closed out the regular season with a split with the Janesville Jets. Friday’s win enhanced the Windigo franchise regular season win record to 41 victories. Fairbanks clinched second place in the division standings after sweeping the Kenai River Brown Bears last weekend. The Chippewa Steel lost in a shootout on Friday and beat the Anchorage Wolverines Saturday in front of a crowd of 4,469 fans at the Sullivan Arena in Anchorage. As a result of that series, Anchorage finished third and Chippewa clinched the 4th and final spot in the division playoffs.
Friday, April 11 – Windigo 3 at Jets 2: Last weekend’s games were the last two games ever to be played by the Jets at the Janesville Ice Arena. The Jets will be moving into the new $47 million Woodman’s Center next season. Braydon Beahm opened the scoring while on a power play to put the Windigo on top midway through the opening period. Nate Farrell gained control of the puck in the neutral zone and passed it to Jackson Ernst as he crossed the blue line. Ernst carried the puck into the corner and passed it across the slot to Beahm. Beahm released a shot that slipped past the Janesville netminder’s blocker. The penalty filled first period closed with he Windigo holding a 13 to 9 shots on net advantage. Janesville turned on the jets in the second period and outshot the Windigo 16 to 4. The Jets tied the game 2:39 into the middle frame. While on another power play, Wyatt Herres broke up a Jets’ rush in the neutral zone. Nate Farrell picked up the loose puck and carried it into the offensive zone. He dished the puck to Hunter Hayes to his right. Hayes spotted Herres at the top of the far circle and slid the puck to him. Herres released a one-timer along the ice just inside the post. The Jets tied the game at 2 just 11 seconds into the third period. Two minutes later, Hunter Hayes beat a Jets’ player to a loose puck along the boards and tapped it up the boards to Beahm. Beahm headed up ice and saw Jackson Ernst behind the Janesville defenders. Beahm passed the puck to Ernst, sending him on a breakaway. Ernst deked the goalie forehand to backhand to forehand before depositing the puck behind the Jets goaltender for the game winner. The Windigo spent much of the remaining game in the penalty box and had to kill off two 5-on-3s to preserve the lead. The Windigo penalty kill was perfect in negating all 10 man advantages afforded the Jets. Lucas Szyszka was stellar in net, making 36 saves to earn his 29th win of the season. San Jose Sharks and UMass commit, Christian Kirsch, made 21 saves in a losing effort in net for the Jets. The flow of game was marred by a horrific refereeing performance resulting in 24 penalties being called, 16 of which were assessed against the Windigo.
Saturday, April 12 – Windigo 1 at Jets 5 : In preparation for the playoffs, the Windigo rested Braydon Beahm, Hunter Hayes, Mario DiMaggio, Declan Burns and Michael Ryan. The parade to the penalty box continued with 17 infractions being called during the game, 10 of which were called on the Windigo. Taking advantage of Windigo miscues and penalties, Janesville scored three consecutive goals in the first period, including a short-handed goal and a power play goal. Both teams were credited with 9 shots on goal in the opening frame. Jackson Ernst got the Windigo on the board midway through the second period. Windigo defenseman Harper Frey executed a defensive zone exit and forwarded the puck to Ernst. Ernst gained the offensive zone, then spun around and dished the puck to Beau Kralovec. Kralovec carried the puck along the boards and below the goal line. Just before skating behind the net, he released a backhand pass to Ernst who was positioned at the hash mark in the slot. Ernst released a quick shot to score his ninth goal in his last nine games for the Windigo. Ernst returned to the team on March 15, after concluding his high school season with Lakeville South High School in Minnesota, where he scored 60 points (24g/36a) in 30 games. Janesville outshot the Windigo 14 to 7 in the second period and the Jets closed the period with a 3 to 1 lead. Despite outshooting the Jets 22 to 14 in the final period, the Windigo were unable to score again. Janesville picked up two goals, one of them on a 5-on-3 power play, in the third period to close out the scoring. Beau Altman suffered the loss in net for the Windigo making 32 saves. Christian Kirch recorded the win in net for Janesville, saving 37 of 38 Windigo shots.
Coach’s Comments: “Weekends like that we just experienced in Janesville are typically challenging. Having clinched the top spot in the Midwest Division it is difficult for players not to look ahead. Also, we inserted several players into the lineup to allow some of the guys to rest and recover from nagging injuries. We spent a lot of time on the penalty kill. I was proud of the guys shutting down the Jets power play on Friday. We killed of all 10 of their power plays, including two 5-on-3s. Lucas Szyszka deserves much of the credit for the win on Friday. He was terrific once again. Now we turn our focus to the playoffs.”
Up Next – The Windigo have home ice advantage for the first two rounds of the playoffs. The Chippewa Steel will visit the Dome on April 18 and 19 for the first two games of the Robertson Cup Midwest Division semi-final series. The games will start at 7pm CDT at the historic Dome in Eagle River. Tickets are available online at www.wisconsinjuniorhockey.com/tickets..