*Photo Contributed by Minnesota Mallards Media Team
By: Ben Buttrick
Fresh off a two-week trip across Alaska, the Windigo embarked to their final destination of a four-week road trip this past weekend. For Halloween weekend, Wisconsin faced off against their rival to the south, the Springfield Jr. Blues. In a weekend slate that saw a shootout and a five-goal outburst on Halloween, the Windigo left Springfield with three points and some momentum in their pocket, as they won the latter of the two meetings.
Friday, Oct. 30
Final Score: Windigo 3, Jr. Blues 4 (SO)
To begin the weekend festivities, the Windigo fell short in Friday’s contest after a hard-fought shootout. The contest not only saw 40-plus shots on net recorded by both sides, but the high volume of scoring chances carried into the shootout, as both teams had six attempts. The winning tally was ultimately recorded by Jr. Blues forward Mason Benedict.
While Friday’s outing resulted in just one point for the Windigo, they showed some resilience to even force the extra period. They quickly took a 2-0 lead after just 11 minutes, with the first of two goals put away by veteran defenseman Jordan Stange. The second-year blueliner weaved past multiple Springfield defensemen before locating a shot near the top-right corner for his first goal of the campaign. He was assisted by alternate captain Brayden Severin, who went on to have one of his best weekends offensively of his two-year Windigo career.
For the second goal of Friday’s outing, rookie winger Artis Skrebels followed up Stange’s goal with another less than three minutes later. Skrebels capitalized off a rebounded shot that was fired by returning blueliner Devin Berg, which ultimately earned the former his fifth goal of the season.
After the Jr. Blues tallied three consecutive goals to claim the lead after two periods. The Windigo continued to fight until they found their equalizer. Just under five minutes into the third period, second-year NAHL winger Kale Bergante picked up his second point of the night with his game-tying goal. Bergante’s tally arrived when he swooped in from the left wing to claim a loose puck, before he fired it into the back of the net from a narrow angle. The tally was his third goal of the season, and he was ultimately assisted by Skrebels and rookie winger Archer Hillig.
Despite having a shootout loss placed on his record, veteran netminder Harry Byers made a plethora of big saves in Friday’s effort. Overall, he stopped 39 of 42 shots on net, which helped him record his second three-game stretch of the season with 30-plus saves.
Saturday, Oct. 31
Final Score: Windigo 5, Jr. Blues 2
Less than 24 hours after their first overtime loss of the season, the Windigo responded to their recent adversity with a five-goal win. Saturday’s outing became the team’s fourth performance of the season where they compiled five goals or more.
Despite not kicking off the scoring on Halloween Night, the Windigo got the last laugh of the first period by scoring two goals across the final three minutes of the opening stanza. The first tally for Wisconsin was put away by former WHL winger Blake Arrowsmith. He secured his first NAHL goal Saturday by firing the puck five-hole past Jr. Blues netminder Eli Simard. His tally was set up by Severin, who would go on to score the team’s next goal just over 90 seconds later. The alternate captain’s twine finder arrived as he was being shoved into the dasher boards behind the net. While falling, he was able to ricochet a shot off the skate of a Springfield defenseman and into the back of the net. The goal was Severin’s second of the season and helped him pave the way to securing the first three-point night of his NAHL career.
To start the second period, the Windigo kept momentum on their side with a quick goal to increase their lead. The tally was put away by rookie winger Daniel Greenbaum, who redirected a shot from Stange into the back of the net for Wisconsin’s third goal of the night. The goal was Greenbaum’s third of the campaign.
After the Jr. Blues notched their second tally of the night just four minutes later, the score would go on to stand at 3-2 until the final three minutes of the contest. To put the game away, alternate captain Aidan Hickok answered the call on a power play. After claiming the loose puck, he fired a shot that snuck past the glove of Simard. Hickok has been on fire with a man advantage this season, as he’s currently tied for second in the NAHL in power-play goals with six. Additionally, Stange picked up an assist on the play, helping the second-year blueliner secure his first multi-assist game of the season.
For the final tally of the night, rookie center Emils Brakse sealed the deal with a shorthanded, empty-net goal with less than 30 seconds left to play. His tally came from beyond Wisconsin’s own blue line, as he flew the puck perfectly down the center of the ice to score his fourth total goal of the season. Three of Brakse’s four goals have been in his last eight appearances.
In net, Byers was called upon to defend the road paint once again and thrived. His pair of back-to-back appearances over the weekend marked his first time appearing in both games of a two-game slate this season. In the performance, he made 19 saves and kept the Jr. Blues off the scoreboard for the final 34 and a half minutes of the night. He’s now helped the Windigo earn at least a point in the standings in half of his 10 appearances this season.
Standings
Just under a third of the way into the 2026-27 regular season, the Windigo currently have a 5-10-1 record across 16 outings this season. Their record placed them in sixth out of eight teams in the Midwest Division standings. With the split results, Springfield improved to 1-15-1 across 17 games this season. Currently leading the division is the Janesville Jets, who have an 11-5-0 record across 16 contests.
Team Leaders
Leading the way statistically for the Windigo is Hickok, who tops the team’s leaderboards in both goals (6) and points (12). Close behind him in points is Berg, who currently has 11 points while leading the team in assists (8). The pair of veterans are both well on their way to setting their respective NAHL career highs in points. In addition to Hickok and Berg, both rookie winger Kaden Mote and Skrebels have reached the double-digit point mark in a tie for third on the team with 10 points.
Between the pipes, Byers currently holds a 4-5-1 record, a 3.67 GAA, an .899 save percentage and two shutouts, which is still tied for the league lead in clean sheets.
Up Next
After a long four weeks without Windigo hockey at The Ponds of Brookfield, the wait is finally over! The Windigo will host their I-94 rival, the Janesville Jets, for the first meeting of the 2026-27 regular season between the two sides. Their lone home game of the weekend is slated for a 6:15 PM CST puck drop on Friday, Nov. 6, before heading to Janesville to wrap up the two-game slate on Saturday, Nov. 7. Saturday’s puck drop is scheduled for 7:05 PM CST.
Tickets can be purchased using this link. If you can’t make it to the Ponds on game night, make sure to tune in on NATV. For more information, visit nahltv.com for more details.
