Up Next: The Windigo Return Home to Host the Janesville Jets
Photos: Braydon Beahm (#11) scores on October 25 with Elliot Gulley (#21) following, Zach Cline (#4) gets robbed from point blank range, Ronnie Hill (#13) shoots on net.
Weekend Recap: The top teams in the NAHL Midwest Division standings going into last weekend’s competition squared off in Anchorage, Alaska. Crowds of 2,187 on Friday and 2,423 on Saturday (larger than the population Eagle River, WI) turned out to watch the Wolverines sweep the Windigo.
Friday, October 26: Windigo 3 at Anchorage 6: The Windigo came out flying, using their speed to keep the Wolverines penned up in their zone and outshot their hosts 11 to 5 in the first period. Anchorage took full advantage of their limited chances, scoring 2:34 into the game. Braydon Beahm’s 8th goal of the season tied the game six minutes later. The Wolverines scored again to close the first period with a 2-1 lead. The Windigo outshot Anchorage again in the second period, 13 to 12, but the hosts scored four times to jump out to a 6-1 lead halfway into the game. Lucas Busch scored his 3rd goal of the year to stem the onslaught. Cashen Naeve carried the puck into the offensive zone and passed to Jackson Ernst, who was crashing the net. Lucas Busch was the trailer in the 3-on-1 rush and buried the rebound of Ernst’s shot. Teddy Richardson’s power play goal at 2:36 of the third came off a rebound of a shot from the point by Daniil Dolzhenko. Unfortunately, that was all the Windigo could muster, despite outshooting their opponent 12 to 6 in the final period. Lucas Szyszka took the loss in net, stopping 6 of 11 shots faced before being relieved in net by teammate Beau Altman. Altman gave up 1 goal on 11 shots faced in just over 30 minutes of play. Roberto Leonardo Henriquez, a native of Bratislava, Slovakia, turned away 33 of 36 shots sent his way to record the win for the Wolverines.
Saturday, October 19: Windigo 4 at Anchorage 5 (OT): Once again, the Wolverines jumped out to an early lead by taking advantage of a Windigo turnover and scored just 5 minutes into the contest. Windigo captain Elliot Gulley scored his 6th of the year with a wrister from the mid-slot. Gulley’s goal was the result of nice puck movement by Ronnie Hill and Braydon Beahm, who ultimately found Gulley wide open after a 3-on-2 rush. A scoreless second period saw the Wolverines outshoot the Windigo 13 to 9. Daniel Bagnole put the Wolverines on top 59 seconds into the third period, after weaving through three Windigo players in the neutral zone and releasing a shot from the high slot as Windigo defenders backed deeper into their zone. The Windigo came out strong in the third period, outshooting Anchorage 14 to 8. Windigo defender Declan Burns scored his first NAHL goal to tie the game at 10:28 of the third. Burns swept into the offensive zone as Teddy Richardson was crossing just inside the blue line. Richardson fed the puck to Burns with a nifty backhand pass. Burns dropped into the slot uncontested and released a shot that found its mark just inside the post at the far side of the net. Jackson Ernst put the Windigo up 3-2 at 12:29 of the third period. Logan Nickolaus threw the puck into the crease from behind the goal line. The redirection off the stick of Ernst hit the Wolverines netminder and dribbled in behind him. Ronne Hill scored his first career NAHL goal just 11 seconds later to increase the Windigo lead to 4-2. Braydon Beahm flipped the puck to Elliot Gulley, who in turn passed the puck to Hill standing all alone in the slot. What appeared to be shaping up as a stunning come from behind victory for the Windigo was soon to be spoiled. The Wolverines scored twice to send the game into overtime. The Wolverines, feeding off their momentum, were all over the Windigo during overtime play, outshooting them 5-1. A tripping penalty by the Windigo put the Wolverines on the power play with 2:01 remaining in overtime. The Windigo found themselves on a defensive zone faceoff with just 9 seconds remaining. The faceoff was eventually possessed by Anchorage. The puck was thrown to the front of the net from behind the Windigo goal line. The resulting goal mouth scramble was won by Anchorage, as Daniel Bagnole jammed the puck between Lucas Szyszka’s legs with just 0.8 seconds remaining. Szyszka took the loss in net with 35 saves. Roberto Leonardo Henriquez earned the win in net for Anchorage with 35 saves of his own.
Coach’s Comments: Windigo head coach John Micthell had the following to say after the weekend series, “Unfortunately, our effort this weekend didn’t show up in the results. Games can go that way at times. We showed great effort in stretches. We are learning how to battle through adversity on long road trips like this. We generated some good looks in the offensive zone on Friday, but weren’t able to convert on some grade A opportunities. Their goalie played well. We had some lapses and mistakes that we will learn from. Prior to the game on Saturday, we talked about being prepared, focusing on first touches, and managing the puck. For the most part, we did a better job of that on Saturday. I’m pleased with our comeback push on Saturday and seeing a couple of guys get their first goals in this league. Anchorage is a good team, but so are we. We had a great push in the middle of the third period to jump out to a 4-2 lead. Unfortunately, we made some mistakes and allowed them back into the game. This road trip is a great opportunity for our guys to learn from and mature as a team. Three-quarters of the season is ahead of us. We are going to take it one game at a time. Often times you hear coaches talking about forgetting weekends like this and putting it behind you. Instead, we will use this as a teaching opportunity. We’ve got 6 of our next 8 games at home. Our coaching staff intends to have our team be the toughest team in the league to play against this coming weekend. We will pursue that approach for the remainder of the season.”
Up Next: After the long road trip, the Windigo return to the historic Dome for 6 games in November. The Windigo host Janesville on November 1 and 2. Opening faceoff is 7pm. Tickets are available online at www.wisconsinjuniorhockey.com/tickets or at the door commencing 1 hour prior to the opening faceoff.