Eagle River, WI, February 3, 2025
Cover Photo: Lucas Szyszka (#33) prepares to make a save with Ronnie Hill and Martin Klicka (#26) looking on.
Photos: Braydon Beahm (#11) releases a shot to score on Friday; Cashen Naeve (#24) and Ben Aucoin (#29) tangle with Chippewa players in front of the net; Michael Maillette (#22) skates for a loose puck.
Weekend Recap: The Windigo continued their road trip to Chippewa Falls, WI, to take on the Steel. With a virus tearing its way through the Windigo locker room, the coaching staff was challenged to make some last minute lineup changes throughout the weekend. The Steel prevailed on Friday and the Windigo rebounded in convincing fashion on Saturday. The 2 points earned over the weekend were enough to allow the Windigo to retain first place in the NAHL Midwest Division standings with 59 points. Anchorage swept Fairbanks at home to climb back into second place with 56 points. Fairbanks dropped to third place with 54 points and Chippewa climbed into the fourth spot with 44 points. The top four teams advance to the Robertson Cup Midwest Division playoffs upon conclusion of regular season play.
Friday, January 31 – Windigo 2 at Chippewa 3: The Steel got on the board less than two minutes into the game. They caught the Windigo with four men playing below the hash marks and turned a quick transition into a two-on-one breakaway – which they converted into a goal. Felix Haibock tied the game near the end of the first period. John Halverson scooped up the puck behind the net and threw it towards the crease. Haibock tucked in the loose puck for his third goal of the season. Wisconsin outshot Chippewa 12 to 10 in the opening period. Chippewa regained their lead 2:07 into the second period. Undisciplined play by the Windigo resulted in Chippewa having a 2 man advantage power play, during which they easily scored. The Windigo tied the game at 2 goals a piece with a power play goal of their own. With five minutes remaining in the second period, John Halverson picked up a loose puck along the boards and fed it to Michael Ryan in the face off circle. Ryan passed the puck to Braydon Beahm stationed at the top of the far circle. Beahm’s wrister found its mark just inside the far post. Chippewa regained the lead for good with 8 minutes remaining in the third period. Steel defenseman Zach Sondreal chipped the puck into the Windigo offensive zone and walked around a Windigo defender to pick up the puck deep in the Windigo zone. Sondreal passed the puck to teammate Tomas Trunda. Trunda found Steel forward Lance Mengel all alone headed towards the Windigo net. With three Windigo players in close proximity watching the play develop, Mengel released a shot from close range to win the game. Lucas Szyszka took the loss in net, making 23 saves. Devin Shakar made 28 saves to earn the victory for Chippewa.
Saturday, February 1 – Windigo 5 at Chippewa 2: From the opening faceoff on Saturday, the Windigo looked like a different team. Ronnie Hill wasted little time putting the Windigo in the lead, scoring just 1:06 into the contest. Windigo captain Logan Nickolaus carried the puck into the offensive zone and passed to his left to Declan Burns. Nickolaus continued his progress towards the net, drawing a Steel defender with him. This opened up the middle of the high slot for Ronnie Hill to join the play. Burns slid the puck over to Hill all alone at the top of the slot. Hill released a wrist shot high to the glove side for his 10th goal of the season. Seven minutes later, the Windigo executed a textbook breakout that resulted in springing John Halverson on a rush up the center of the ice. Harper Frey chipped the puck up to Ben Aucoin along the near hash. Aucoin passed it to Halverson as he exited the Windigo zone. Halverson carried the puck thru the neutral zone and walked around two Steel defenders on his way to the net. Halverson jammed the puck home from the crease for his 6th goal of the season. The Windigo dominated the second period with two additional goals. Logan Nickolaus tapped in a rebound of a Zach Cline shot four minutes into the second period. Alexios Georgaklis worked a give and go with Cashen Naeve as he entered the offensive zone during a power play. Georgaklis, having been released from sick bay Saturday morning, chipped the puck to the top corner of the net over the glove hand of Steel netminder Devin Shakar. Chippewa responded with two consecutive third period goals to cut the Windigo lead in half. The Steel pulled their goalie late in the game in favor of an extra attacker. Windigo assistant captain Zach Cline scored an empty netter with 25 seconds remaining to seal the victory. Lucas Szyszka recorded 25 saves on his way to his 20th win of the season in net for the Windigo.
Coach’s Comments: Windigo head coach John Mitchell had the following to say after the weekend series: “To say it was a roller coaster weekend would be an understatement. We had a number of guys battling the flu bug all week and we had to make a number of adjustments to try to field a healthy team. Our effort on Friday fell short of our standards. We had sequences where we played well, but passed up on some shots that I would have liked to see us take. When you are struggling, sometimes it is best to put the puck on net and pounce on the rebounds. We showed a lack of discipline as well. We can’t have multiple players sitting in the box serving 10 minute misconduct penalties. They took advantage of some of our guys watching the play, rather than picking up their defensive assignments. We had a long talk as a team on Saturday morning, stressing the need to be disciplined and putting in an honest effort every shift. I was pleased to see how the guys responded to that on Saturday night. We came out of the gate flying. The effort we displayed in the first two periods on Saturday is what we are looking for. When we play that way, we are capable of beating any team in the league. We lost our structure a little in the third and Chippewa took advantage of that. I do like the way we regained our composure and didn’t let victory slip away from us in the third period on Saturday.”
Up Next: The Windigo return home to host the Janesville Jets on February 7 & 8. Those games are a part of a double header being held to accommodate the Eagle River Recreation Association’s senior men’s team. Friday’s game starts at 6pm and Saturday’s game time is 5:30pm. Tickets for the double header are $20 and available at the door or at www.wisconsinjuionrhockey.com/tickets.
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