Up Next: The Windigo Host the Minnesota Wilderness on January 9-10
Eagle River, WI, January 6, 2025
Photos: Logan Nickolaus Star of the Week Graphic, Beau Altman (#1) prepares to make a save, Luke Baker (#19) scores. Logan Nickolaus (#23) and Samuel Misak (#15) head up ice.
Weekend Recap: Midwest division rival Kenai River Brown Bears traveled to Eagle River to take on the Windigo in a two game series last Friday and Saturday. The Windigo started the New Year off right with a sweep over their Midwest Division rival in front of large crowds at the historic Dome. The Windigo got a little help over the weekend from other lower 48 teams in the Midwest Division as both Anchorage and Fairbanks were held to series splits in competition with the Minnesota Wilderness and Chippewa Steel, respectively. As a result, the Windigo have maintained their lead in the NAHL Midwest Division standings with 47 points over second place Anchorage (43 points) and third place Fairbanks (42 points). However, Anchorage has two games in hand over the Windigo and Fairbanks has played only 29 games compared to the Windigo’s 33 games played.
Friday, January 3 – Brown Bears 2 at Windigo 5: The first period was characterized by tight checking and stingy goaltending, with the Windigo holding a small advantage in shots on goal of 7 to 6. A power play provided the opportunity to Windigo forward Alexios Georgaklis to break the ice and put the Windigo up 1 to 0 late in the first period. Cashen Naeve initiated the play from the offensive zone blue line when he found Ronnie Hill in the near corner on the goal line. Hill then passed the puck across ice to Georgaklis who was all alone on the back door, from where he released a one-timer that found the back of the net. Logan Nickolaus scored his 6th of the season for the Windigo just 3 minutes into the second period. Defenseman Michael Ryan dumped the puck into the offensive zone and Ronnie Hill picked it up off the boards and passed it over to Nickolaus. Nickolaus drove to the net and across the low slot to deposit the puck past the outstretched leg of the Kenai River goaltender. Ben Aucoin increased the Windigo lead to 3 to 0 just 7:57 into the middle frame. Nickolaus carried the puck into the Kenai zone and passed it over to Aucoin coming down the left side. Aucoin released a wrist shot from the mid-slot that eluded the goaltender. William Esterbrooks put the Brown Bears on the board with a nice wrist shot from the top of the circle at 8:49 of the second period. The Windigo held a 14 to 6 shots on goal advantage in the second period. Kenai made a game of it, scoring again eight minutes into the third period. John Ross scored his first NAHL goal by taking advantage of a turnover by the Windigo while on the power play and headed up ice on a breakaway to score short-handed. Braydon Beahm answered for the Windigo with his 24th goal of the season. Beahm gained control of the puck in the defensive zone and chipped it up to Nickolaus. Nicklaus headed up ice while Beahm joined him on the play. Nickolaus passed the puck to Beahm just as he reached the net. Beahm redirected the pass off his backhand and into the net. Hill closed out the scoring with an empty netter with 1:48 remaining in the game. Beau Altman got the start in net and earned his third win of the season for the Windigo with 20 saves. Mitchell Mccusker took the loss in net for Kenai River with 25 saves.
Saturday, January 4 – Brown Bears 2 at Windigo 3: Saturday’s rematch was a hotly contested affair with Kenai River outshooting the Windigo 26 to 22. Logan Nickolaus continued his hot hand after returning from an injury which had kept him out of competition for the much of November and December. Nickolaus put the Windigo on the board with a short-handed goal nine minutes into the contest. Zach Cline gathered a loose puck in the defensive zone and passed it up to Nickolaus. Nickolaus bore down on Kenai netminder Owen Zenone all alone. Nickolaus executed a forehand to backhand deke then slide the puck under an outstretched Zenone. John Ross scored for the Brown Bears shortly thereafter to tie the game at one goal apiece. Luke Baker put the Windigo back into the lead early in the second period with a goal just before time expired on a power play. Ronnie Hill set up Baker with a nice pass across the top of the crease. Baker, all alone on the far post, one-timed the puck just inside the post. Kenia River took advantage of a defensive zone giveaway by a Windigo forward to tie the game at 2 goals each with 7 minutes remaining in the middle frame. Nickolaus scored his second of the night and third of the weekend to put the Windigo in the lead for good. Defenseman Harper Frey released a shot from the point that bounced off the goalies’ glove and over the net. Windigo forward Felix Haibock collected the puck and backhanded it towards the net. Nickolaus picked up the rebound and shot from close range. Zenone made a nice toe save, but the puck rebounded right back to Nickolaus. Nickolaus backhanded the puck into the net behind the sprawling netminder. Beau Altman picked up his second consecutive win with 24 saves. Zenone made 19 saves in a losing effort.
Coach’s Comments: Coach John Mitchell offered the following after the weekend series. “It was great to get back to our winning ways after struggling a bit over our last few series. Having some of our players return to the lineup was an immense help. It was great to see Logan Nickolaus regain his form after missing 13 games due to an injury. His 3 goals and 2 assists during the weekend were huge for us and deserving of consideration for player of the week honors in our division. Our penalty kill was strong all weekend, especially on Friday when we killed off a double minor late in the third period. We do need to be a little more disciplined with the puck such that we avoid giving up short-handed goals. We got scoring from six different players this weekend, which was great to see. Altman played well in net for us. It is important to have depth at goaltending, such that we don’t over burden any one goaltender. It is a long season and we need to make sure we have something left in the tank come playoffs.”
Logan Nickolaus Named Bauer Midwest Star of the Week: For his 3 goal and 2 assist weekend performance, Windigo captain Logan Nickolaus was named the NAHL’s Bauer Midwest Star of the week. Windigo head coach John Mitchell had the following to say, ““Logan is a pillar here in the community of Eagle River and epitomizes everything a coach would hope for in a player. He’s a pro, through and through. From his preparation on and off the ice, to his leadership traits, he’s a great example for our young players to learn from. We are happy to have him back in the lineup.”
