Up Next: On the Road vs the Wilderness then Home to Host Chippewa on November 29-30
Photos: Michael Maillette (#22) scores his first NAHL goal; Jordan Brothers (#18) scores; Luke Baker (#19) delivers a check; Lucas Szyszka (#33) makes a save against the Wilderness on November 22.
Weekend Recap: The Windigo traveled to Minnesota to take on the Wilderness for the second half of back-to-back weekend series. The Windigo swept the Wilderness in convincing fashion by the scores of 5-1 on Friday and 7-3 on Saturday. The Windigo sweep, combined with Anchorage dropping two games to Fairbanks, catapulted the Windigo into first place in the Midwest Division.
Friday, November 22: Windigo 5 at Wilderness 1: The Windigo dominated play in the first period, beating the Wilderness to loose pucks and outshooting them 13 to 5 in the opening frame. Nonetheless, the Wilderness scored first to take the lead ten minutes into the game. Jordan Brothers tied the game 5 minutes later, after receiving an outlet pass from Elliot Gulley and breaking in on the net all alone. Gulley put the Windigo in the lead for good, with a one-timer from the low slot with six minutes remaining in the second period. Gulley was assisted by a heads-up pass from Mario DiMaggio. Lucas Busch scored while on a power play to increase the Windigo lead to 3-1. Zach Cline cycled the puck high to Michael Ryan on the blue line. Ryan slid the puck to Busch who was planted in the far faceoff circle. Busch drove toward the net and released a wrister through a screen set up by Braydon Beahm. Trailing 3-1, the Wilderness applied significant pressure throughout the third period, outshooting the Windigo 15 to 5 in the final frame. Luke Baker’s empty netter with 2:16 remaining sealed the victory. Michael Maillette redirected a pass from Samuel Misak to score his first NAHL goal with 1:21 remaining to close out the scoring. Lucas Szyszka made 26 saves to earn his league leading 14th win of the season. Niklas Erickson made 27 saves and suffered the loss in net for the Wilderness.
Saturday, November 23: Windigo 7 at Wilderness 3: With a few players battling injuries, Jace Fitzgerald was called up from the West Bend Power of the NA3HL and inserted into the lineup. The 6’3”, 205-pound centerman from Rice Lake, WI, wasted little time in making his presence felt when he scored a goal at 8:18 of the first period. After winning an offensive zone faceoff, Fitzgerald pounced on a rebound of a shot off the stick of Lucas Busch to score his first NAHL goal. Luke Baker scored his first of two shorthanded goals 3:10 into the second period. Baker showed great anticipation in intercepting a pass along his defensive zone blueline to create a breakaway opportunity for himself. The Wilderness battled back with two goals to close the second period with a 2-2 tie. With just over 12 minutes remaining in the third period, the Windigo found themselves under pressure on the penalty kill. Baker struck once again to score a shorthanded goal to claim the lead. Declan Burns won a puck battle along the high boards in his zone and fed the puck to Baker. Baker headed up ice with Burns. They faced a lone Wilderness defender as they entered the offensive zone. Baker used Burns as a decoy and released a shot just inside the far post. The Wilderness scored a power play goal with 11:25 in the third period to tie the game. From then on, it was all Windigo – scoring 4 consecutive goals to claim the win. Jordan Brothers (from Mario DiMaggio and Zach Cline) converted on a power play to put the Windigo in the lead for good with 8:47 remaining. Cline scored a power play goal of his own four minutes later, when he buried a rebound of a shot off the boards from Braydon Beahm. Ronnie Hill’s empty netter from deep in his zone made in 6-3 for the Windigo. Harper Frey’s first NAHL goal closed out the scoring when his wrist shot from the point bounced over the Wilderness netminder’s catching glove and into the net. The Windigo outshot the Wilderness in the contest 39-20. Lucas Szyszka got the win in net for the Windigo, making 17 saves. Niklas Erickson had 32 saves and took the loss in net for the Wilderness.
Coach’s Comments: Coach John Mitchell offered the following after the weekend series. “Our organizational depth was on display this weekend. With a few guys out with injuries and one player returning to high school, that created the opportunity for some fresh faces stepping into the limelight. It was great to see the distributed scoring we had on the weekend. We had three guys score their first NAHL goals. The vets were happy for those guys. We controlled the play for long stretches both nights. Luke Baker’s contribution cannot be understated. He does so many things well for us. He plays on the power play and penalty kill units, in addition to his regular shift. His two shorthanded goals on Saturday were the result of his ability to anticipate the play and use his superior speed to his advantage. Our special teams did an excellent job all weekend. We had 3 power play goals and two shorties. I would prefer to see us play with a little more discipline and stay out of the penalty box. Szyszka was solid in net for us once again. He made some big saves when we needed them. His 14 wins is tops in the league. He doesn’t get enough recognition for that.”
Up Next: The Windigo hit the road for a single game at the Wilderness on Wednesday, November 27, then return home to host Chippewa for a weekend series on November 29-30. Follow the Windigo while they are on the road on NATV. Subscribe at https://nahltv.com. Tickets for the November 29-30 homestand vs the Steel are available online at www.wisconsinjuniorhockey.com/tickets or at the door commencing one hour prior to the opening faceoff.
