Eagle River, WI, March 3, 2025
Photos: Lucas Szyszka (#33) stretches to make spectacular save. Zach Cline (#4) heads up ice. Hunter Hayes (#18) celebrates his goal. Luke Baker (#19) heads up ice on his way to a shorthanded goal.
Weekend Recap: The Windigo hit the road for a two game series in Cloquet, MN, against the Minnesota Wilderness. The series split resulted in the Windigo retaining first place in the Midwest Division with 69 points. With only 6 weeks of regular season action remaining, all eyes are on the top four spots in the Midwest Division standings. Anchorage and Fairbanks dueled over two games last weekend in Anchorage. Anchorage earned 3 valuable points in the standings due to a regulation win and shootout loss. Fairbanks picked up 2 points for the shootout win on Saturday. As a result, Fairbanks in in second with 62 points and Anchorage is in third with 61 points in the standings Both teams have 1 game in hand over the Windigo. Chippewa was off last weekend but still holds the fourth and final playoff spot in the Midwest Division with 52 points.
Friday, February 28 – Windigo 5 at Wilderness 3: A fast and evenly played first period saw the shots on goal advantage tilt to the hosts 12 to 11. The Wilderness scored the only goal of the period to take a one goal lead into the first intermission. Hunter Hayes continued his hot hand for the Windigo, scoring just 1:06 into the second period to tie the game at 1. Hayes’ sixth goal in five games since joining the Windigo was assisted by Braydon Beahm and Harper Frey. The Wilderness took advantage of a power play opportunity to reclaim their lead two minutes later. Windigo defenseman Cashen Naeve knotted the game at 2, with a spectacular shorthanded goal midway through the second period. Naeve stripped a Wilderness player of the puck just inside his defensive blue line. He headed up ice on a breakaway with teammate Braydon Beahm trailing behind. Naeve executed a forehand to backhand deke, then deposited the puck into the net for his eight goal of the season. The Wilderness regained the lead less than a minute later with their second power play goal of the game. Ben Aucoin tied it up again for the Windigo just 19 seconds later. Beahm released a shot from the faceoff circle that created a rebound opportunity for Hayes. Hayes slapped the puck towards the net, creating yet another rebound opportunity, this time for Aucion. Aucoin promptly backhanded the puck into the far side of the net for his ninth goal of the season and seventh as a Windigo. With five minutes remaining in the second period, the Windigo found themselves on the penalty kill once again. This time it was Luke Baker who stripped the puck from a Wilderness player and headed up ice. Baker used his speed to create separation from would be defenders and slipped the puck under the goalie’s leg pad to put the Windigo in the lead 4 to 3. It was Baker’s ninth goal of the season and third of the shorthanded variety. Harper Frey closed out the scoring just over two minutes into the third period. Frey walked the puck towards the net and eventually released a shot. The ensuing scramble at the top of the goalie crease allowed Frey to jam home his own rebound. Lucas Szyszka made 27 saves in net for the Windigo to earn his 23rd win of the season. The Windigo outshot the Wilderness 42 to 30 in the game.
Saturday, March 4 – Windigo 1 at Wilderness 4: Saturday’s rematch saw the Wilderness jump out to a 2-0 lead after the first 20 minutes of play. The Windigo held a slight advantage in shots on net, 14 to 13, in the first period. The Windigo turned on the jets in the second period, outshooting the Wilderness 22 to 5. Ben Aucion put the Windigo on the board with 3:45 remaining in the second period. An offensive zone faceoff resulted in a scramble for the puck. Aucoin came off the far wall and picked up the puck while heading towards the slot. Aucoin slipped one defender then tried to elude another. Just as he was knocked off his feet, he released a shot that sailed over the Wilderness netminder’s glove and into the top corner of the net. The second period closed with the Wilderness clinging to a 1 goal lead. The Windigo kept up the pressure in the third period, outshooting their hosts 14 to 7. Teddy Richardson appeared to tie the game with 12 minutes remaining. Richardson carried the puck into the offensive zone and cut to his left to set up a screen. He released a shot that caromed off the top corner of the back bar of the net. The referee and goal judge immediately signaled a goal. Upon review, the referee inexplicably reversed his call on the ice The Windigo coaching staff reviewed the goal camera video that showed the puck clearly behind the crossbar. The Windigo continued to apply pressure throughout the remainder of the final frame. With under two minutes remaining, the Windigo pulled their goalie in favor of a 6th attacker. The Wilderness quickly potted two empty net goals to seal their victory. Beau Altman took the loss in net with 21 saves. The Windigo outshot the Wilderness 50 to 25 in the contest.
Coach’s Comments: Windigo head coach John Mitchell had the following to say after the weekend series: “I was very pleased with our resilience on Friday. We kept battling back from some tough bounces and found a way to win. We didn’t give up and I’m very proud of our guys for that. A win like that will give us confidence going forward. The distributed scoring on Friday was great to see. Hayes is continuing to put up the points. He’s been a great addition to our team. Naeve and Baker turned the tide for us on Friday, with their shorthanded goals. Szyszka had some huge saves in net, especially in the third period. He deserves a lot of credit for the win. That was a tough loss to take on Saturday. We outplayed them from start to finish. We put 50 shots on their net. Give their goalie credit. He made save after save and gave his teammates the opportunity to steal the game. I was disappointed with the disallowed goal. The puck was clearly in the net. The video feed from the goal camera clearly showed the puck behind the cross bar. Overall, we are showing progress in many areas, the exception being on the power play. We were scoreless on 10 power plays during the weekend. We will continue to work on that and have got to turn that around going forward.”
Up Next – The Windigo host the Chippewa Steel on Friday and Saturday, March 7 & 8. They conclude their regular season home schedule with the Minnesota Wilderness visiting the Dome on March 14 and 15. Those games will start at 7pm. Tickets are available at the door or at www.wisconsinjuionrhockey.com/tickets.