*Photo contributed by Juan Carlos Wood – @shotsbyjcw on Instagram
This past weekend, the Wisconsin Windigo traveled to the newly-constructed Mercy Health Arena in Janesville, WI for a two-game tilt with the Jets. Janesville was able to win the first game 5-4 on Friday, Oct. 17 before the Windigo bounced back in a big way with an 8-2 win on Saturday, Oct. 18.
Saturday, Oct. 18
After losing the night before, the Windigo dominated Saturday night’s contest by posting a season-high eight goals. The goal scoring started when second-year forward Teddy Richardson found the back of the net on a second-chance effort on an early power play in the first period. Roughly six minutes later, second-year winger Beau Kralovec tallied his third goal of the season to put the Windigo up 2-0 before the end of the first period.
The Windigo would be the next team to score as second-year forward Sammy Misak netted his second goal of the season en route to a 3-0 lead. Janesville then pulled their starting goaltender Christopher Prater in favor of Kaenan Smith, who had picked up a win the night prior. The change started well for Janesville as within one minute, the Jets scored to make it a 3-1 game. The change in momentum wouldn’t last long, however, as second-year Windigo center Alexios Georgaklis sniped his second goal of the series to put Wisconsin up 4-1. Janesville would get their only other goal of the game minutes later, but the Windigo never put their heads down and found their fifth goal toward the end of the second period. The fifth tally was scored by newly-acquired defenseman Devin Berg, who made his debut Saturday after the Windigo acquired him via a trade from the Anchorage Wolverines earlier in the week.
The third period was fully controlled by the Windigo. After entering the period with two points, Richardson would score two more goals and make the primary assist on a goal scored by rookie winger Brendan Finley. Richardson’s first goal was a shorthanded tally, and his final goal came on a power play to secure the first hat trick of the season for Wisconsin.
For his five-point performance Saturday, Richardson was named the NAHL Midwest Division Second Star of the Week.
Offensively, the Windigo saw contributions from across the board as nine different skaters tallied an assist or more. Both Richardson and second-year defenseman Michael Ryan had two assists in the contest.
In goal, the Windigo received a strong performance from rookie goaltender Casimir Weckstrom, who appeared in his second straight game Saturday. He made 26 saves on 28 attempts on the way to his second win of the year.
Friday, Oct. 17
In the first matchup of the series, the Windigo fell to the Janesville Jets in a hard-fought 5-4 battle. The game featured 20 total penalties and three shorthanded goals, highlighting one of the most action-packed games of the season for Wisconsin so far.
The Windigo struggled in the early stages of the game, conceding three goals in the first eight minutes. In that time, however, second-year winger Ronnie Hill scored his fourth goal of the season, and the Windigo would trail 3-1 after the first period.
In the second period, the Windigo offense started to heat up as rookie left winger Ryan Mottau scored his first goal of the season on a screaming slapshot to cut the deficit to one goal. Two minutes later, the Jets would score the first shorthanded goal of the game to increase their lead back to two goals. Later in the second, second-year Windigo forward Jackson Ernst fed a pass to Georgaklis to help him score the second shorthanded goal of the contest, and the lead was once again cut to one. However, Janesville would score the third shorthanded goal in a row to lead the game 5-3 headed into the third period.
In the final 20 minutes, the Windigo and Jets combined for eight penalties in a period that would help cement their I-94 rivalry. In terms of scoring, Wisconsin grabbed the only goal as Mottau redirected a shot taken from Ryan into the back of the net for Mottau’s second twine finder of the season. The game would end 5-4.
In net, rookie goaltender Max Kogler was pulled from the game after allowing the first three goals. He was replaced by Weckstrom, who allowed two goals and made 27 saves across the final 52 minutes of the game.
Season Stats
Through 13 games of action this season, the Windigo have a three-way tie atop the point leaderboard between Georgaklis, Richardson and Ryan. All three skaters have 10 points. In terms of goals, the team has a four-way tie between Hill, Finley, Richardson and Georgaklis, who all have four. Ryan leads the team with 9 assists.
In goal, Weckstrom leads the team with a .927 save percentage and a 2.37 GAA through six appearances. Both Weckstrom and Kogler have recorded two wins.
Standings
The Windigo currently sit in fifth place with a 5-7-1 record in the NAHL Midwest Division standings. They are just one point behind the Kenai River Brown Bears, who are in fourth. The Jets dropped to third place and now have a 7-5-0 record. The Minnesota Wilderness lead the division and are a league-best 12-1-1 through 14 contests.
Up Next
The Windigo are set to continue their three-weekend road trip as they will travel to Cloquet, MN for a two-game series with the Minnesota Wilderness. Puck Drop for both meetings is set for 7:15 PM Central Time. If you can’t make it in person, all Windigo road games can be streamed on NATV. Visit nahltv.com for more details.
