Weekend Recap: The Windigo, Anchorage Wolverines and Janesville Jets, have all qualified for the playoffs. The Chippewa Steel and Minnesota Wilderness are battling for the fourth and final playoff spot in the Midwest Division. Heading into the weekend, the Windigo held a 3-point advantage in the standings over the Wolverines. However, the Wolverines have 3 more regular season games to play than the Windigo. The Wilderness entered the weekend sitting in 5th place in the standings, trailing Chippewa by 2 points. The Wilderness hold 2 games in hand over Chippewa. After the dust settled from weekend play, the Windigo’s lead over the Wolverines dropped to 2 points. With the Wilderness picking up 3 of 4 possible points on the weekend, they have climbed to within 1 point of the Steel.
Friday, March 29: Windigo 0 at Wilderness 3: The Wilderness came out of the gate looking like a team in the midst of a battle for the final playoff spot in the Midwest Division. The took the play to the Windigo for the first several minutes of the game. The Wilderness scored 5 minutes into the contest with a wrist shot from the high slot off a zone entry. Windigo netminder, Max Beckford, may have been screened on the shot and reacted just as the puck sailed past him. That goal seemed to awaken the Windigo, who by the middle of the opening frame carried the play for the majority of the balance of the game. Indeed, the Windigo outshot the Wilderness 13 to 11 in both the first and second periods. The third period found the Wilderness clinging to a 1 goal lead. Seven minutes into the final frame, a Windigo player was whistled for a questionable holding penalty. The Wilderness scored a power play goal a minute later to increase their lead to 2-0. With time waning, Windigo head coach Blake Hietala pulled his goaltender for an extra attacker. An errant pass by a Windigo defenseman sprung a Wilderness player all alone in front of an empty net with the puck on his stick for an easy goal. Max Beckford took the loss in net, allowing 2 goals on 30 shots faced. Wilderness netminder Adam Prokop was perfect in net for the Wilderness with 36 saves.
Saturday, March 30: Windigo 2 at Wilderness 1 (Shootout): The first period was characterized by a fast pace and aggressive checking, typical of a game you’d expect to see in the playoffs. The Wilderness held the advantage in shots on goal 10 to 9. At 7:56 of the second period, rookie sensation Jacob Jastrzebski scored his 17th goal of the season to put the Windigo up 1-0. Will Schumacher carried the puck into the offensive zone and passed the puck to Everett Pietila heading down the left side. Pietila showed great skill in redirecting the pass from his skates up to his stick. Pietila found Jastrzebski crashing the net to his right and put the puck right on his tape for a backhanded tip in past Wilderness netminder Adam Prokop. The Wilderness tied the game with a 4 on 3 power play goal with 3 minutes remaining in the second period. The Windigo came out strong in the third period, outshooting the Wilderness 11 to 6, but Prokop was up to the task and the game headed to overtime. After five minutes of 3 on 3 overtime play in which neither team was able to generate a grade A scoring chance, the game would be decided via shootout. Max Martin was first up during the shootout and scored on his attempt. The Wilderness scored in the second round of the shootout, but neither team scored in the third round, forcing sudden death shootout rounds. Daniil Dolzhenko scored for the Windigo in the sixth round. On the other end of the ice, Windigo netminder Max Beckford stood tall and stopped the Wilderness attempt, sealing the victory for the Windigo.
Coach’s Comments: Windigo head coach Blake Hietala shared the following after the weekend series: “On Friday, Minnesota played like a team that had a lot at stake, certainly more so than we did. We came out a little flat and they dominated play for the first ten minutes. After that, I thought we played a pretty solid 50 minutes of hockey. We certainly out chanced them in the second and third period. We missed some great opportunities. Our shooting accuracy was off a bit and Prokop played well in net for them. Saturday’s game felt like a playoff game. The pace was fast. Time and space were at a premium on both ends of the ice. Jastrzebski’s goal was the result of a great effort by Pietila to gain control of Schumacher’s pass and make a perfect pass to Jastrzebski breaking to the net. Guys like Beahm, Nickolaus, Baker, Gulley, and Cline, didn’t end up on the scoresheet but their effort was key to the win. They applied a heavy forecheck and put their heads down and came back hard on the backcheck to break up plays. Beckford played well both nights. His performance in the shootout provided the opportunity to win the game.
Up Next: The Windigo host the Chippewa Steel in the final home game of the regular season on April 6. That game will start at 7pm. Tickets are $10 for general admission and $15 for the reserved access section. The Windigo will have home ice advantage for the first round of the playoffs. The opponent has yet to be determined. The first two games will be April 19 and 20 at 7pm at the Dome in Eagle River. Playoff tickets will be $20 for reserved section access, $15 for general admission adults, $10 for youth tickets (ages 6 to 18). Children ages 5 and under will be admitted free with an adult. Tickets will be available at the door 1 hour prior to game time and are available online at www.wisconsinjuniorhockey.com/tickets.