Up next: Best of Five Series Moves to Rice Lake, WI
Photos: (Courtesy Jacob Heid- Vilas Country News Review and Everett Meacham): Lucas Szyszka (#33) prepares to take the ice; Nate Farrell (#5) battles along the boards; Zach Cline (#4) celebrates 1 of his 2 goals on Friday, April 18, 2025. Michael Ryan celebrates (#8) his goal on Friday while John Halverson (#14) and Mario DiMaggio (#7) look on.
Weekend Recap: Having won first place in the Midwest Division regular season standings the Windigo hosted the fourth place Chippewa Steel for the first two games of the Robertson Cup Midwest Division playoff semi-finals. The Windigo won in convincing fashion on Friday by the score of 7 to 3. The Steel capitalized on exceptional goaltending to win Saturday’s rematch by the score of 2 to 0. The best-of-five game series will move to the Rice Lake Hockey Arena, in Rice Lake, Wisconsin, on April 25 and 26, for the next two games of the series. The other Midwest Division semi-final series featured Fairbanks hosting Anchorage. Anchorage won both those games and only needs to win one more game to clinch that series. The Wolverines will host Fairbanks on April 25 and 26.
Friday, April 18 – Steel 3 at Windigo 7: The Windigo came out flying from the opening faceoff and outshot the Steel 16 to 4 in the first period. Zach Cline got the Windigo on the board 4:51 into the game. Logan Nickolaus stripped a Steel player of the puck as he exited his defensive zone. Teddy Richardson picked up the loose puck and passed it across the low slot to Cline. Cline’s wrist shot easily found its way to the back of the net. Less than a minute later, Mario DiMaggio shut down another Steel defensive zone exit. Braydon Beahm picked up the loose puck and circled high in the offensive zone before rimming the puck along the boards to Jackson Ernst behind the Steel net. Ernst attempted a wrap-around, but the puck slid across the crease to Beahm, who was all alone. Beahm’s one-timer sailed just inside the near post. Ronnie Hill kept the scoring parade going midway through the opening frame. Windigo defenseman Wyatt Herres won a puck battle along the boards in the neutral zone and passed it over to Alexios Georgaklis, who was heading up the center of the ice. Georgaklis carried the puck into the offensive zone and drew two defenders. As Georgaklis was sandwiched between two Steel players, the puck slipped loose and emerged on Hill’s stick at the hash mark inside the slot. Hill’s forehand beat the goalie low to the glove side. With just under 4 minutes remaining in the first period, the Steel took advantage of a Windigo defenseman’s turnover and headed up ice on a two-on-one. The Steel scored on that opportunity to close the period with the Windigo holding a 3 to 1 lead. Defenseman Michael Ryan increased the Windigo lead to 4 to 1 early in the second period. Taking advantage of a quick transition up ice, Teddy Richardson moved the puck up to Cline in the far corner. Cline dished the puck back to Richardson as he headed behind the net. Richardson circled around and made a great pass to Ryan, who had dropped into the low slot. Ryan received the puck on his forehand, but the shooting lane to the net off his forehand was blocked by a Steel defender. Ryan moved the puck forehand to backhand and released a backhander that slipped just inside the near post. Cline increased the Windigo lead to 5 to 1 with 6:26 remaining in the second period. Richardson fought off two Steel defenders behind the net to gain possession of the puck and passed the puck to Cline, who was all alone in front of the net. Cline tapped Richardson’s pass into the far side of the net. Chippewa scored with just 25 seconds remaining in the middle frame to close the second period with the Windigo holding a 5 to 2 lead. Five minutes into the third period, Cline pounced on a failed Steel clearing attempt and passed the puck to Wyatt Herres. Herres released a one-timer from just inside the blue line that found its way through traffic and into the net. Just sixteen seconds later, the Steel took advantage of a failed Windigo clearing attempt to score again. The Windigo dominated play during the remainder of the game, outshooting Chippewa 13 to 3 in the third period. Hunter Hayes closed out the scoring with a power play goal with 1:39 remaining in the game. Once again, it was Richardson’s heads-up play and precise passing that created the scoring opportunity for the Windigo. Lucas Szyszka earned the win in net, making 11 saves. Devin Shakar stopped 27 of 34 Windigo shots and suffered the loss in net for Chippewa. For his 2 goal and 2 assist effort, Cline earned NAHL Robertson Cup third star of the night.
Saturday, April 19 – Steel 2 at Windigo 0 : Saturday’s rematch saw the Steel coming out much more aggressively, finishing their checks and applying more pressure on Windigo puck carriers. With two minutes remaining in the opening period, Chippewa forward Ryder Mcintosh won a puck battle behind the Windigo net and passed it to Mason Johnson, who was all alone in the slot. Johson released a quick shot that sailed over Windigo netminder Lucas Szyszka’s right shoulder and just inside the top corner of the net. The first period closed with the Windigo holding a 10 to 8 shots advantage but trailing by the score of 1 to 0. The Windigo responded with a dominating second period, outshooting the Steel by the margin of 15 to 3. Devin Shakar stood tall in net and kept the Windigo at bay. The third period was more evenly played, but the Windigo still held the shots on goal advantage by the margin of 9 to 7. However, two Windigo shots in the third period (that did not count as shots on net) rang off the goal post and could have provided the spark the Windigo needed. The Windigo had 3 power play opportunities in the third period, including over a minute of 5 on 3 play, but could not solve Shakar. Given an offensive zone faceoff opportunity, the Windigo pulled netminder Lucas Szyszka with over 2 minutes remaining in favor of a sixth attacker. Chippewa took advantage of a Windigo defenseman’s failed attempt to keep the puck in the offensive zone. That resulted in a two-on-one break away for the Steel, with an empty net in front of them. They easily converted on the opportunity and sealed the victory. Szyszka took the loss in net for the Windigo, making 16 saves on the 17 shots he faced. Chippewa’s Devin Shakar registered the shutout and win, saving all 34 Windigo shots on net. For his effort against the Windigo, Shakar was named NAHL Robertson Cup playoffs first star of the night.
Coach’s Comments: Head coach John Mitchell had the following to say after the weekend series: “We came out strong on Friday, hungry to get things rolling the playoffs. I liked our intensity and determination to finish plays. Our forecheck was strong, resulting in scoring chances and goals. Teddy Richardson was particularly strong in that regard; hence, his four assists on Friday. It is difficult to say that I was disappointed with our effort on Saturday. We outshot them 34 to 18 and quality scoring chances were even more in our favor. We hit four goal posts and ran into a hot goaltender. Hockey is an imperfect game. Occasionally, you lose games you should win. We now have a tight playoff series. The Steel will use their win on Saturday to boost their confidence. We must be prepared for that. We will regroup in practice this week and be ready on Friday.”
Up Next – The playoff series shifts to the Rice Lake Ice Arena in Rice Lake, Wisconsin. The Chippewa Area Ice Arena prematurely shut down their ice plant, forcing the Steel to find a new home to host their playoff games. The games will start at 7pm on both Friday, April 25, and Saturday April 26. Windigo fans can watch the games on NATV at www.nahltv.com. Select the “away feed” to listen to Windigo play by play announcer Daniel Wiitanen call the game. If a game five of the series is necessary, it will be played at the historic Dome in Eagle River at 7pm on Monday, April 28. Again, if that game is necessary, tickets will be available online at www.wisconsinjuniorhockey.com/tickets.