Weekly Update: Eagle River, WI, February 5, 2024.
Weekend Recap: Going into the weekend series, the Windigo were sitting in first place in the Midwest Division and the Anchorage Wolverines held third place in the division. The Wolverines were riding a 6 game win streak when they arrived at the Dome in Eagle River to take on the Windigo on February 2 and 3. The sweep of Anchorage was the 12th win for the Windigo in their last 13 games.
Friday, February 2: Wolverines 2 at Windigo 6: The Windigo came out of the gate focused on a mission to keep their winning streak going. Quinn Disher continued his hot hand and put the Windigo on the board with 4:27 left in the first period. Tyler Grahme increased the lead to 2-0 with his 15th goal of the season with 1:20 left in opening frame. Anchorage got on the board under a minute later. The Windigo led 2-1 after outshooting the Wolverines 14 to 9 in the first period. Anchorage commenced a serious push in the second period, out shooting the Windigo 13 to 12. They tied the game when Trenton Powell scored midway thru the second. Elliot Gulley put the Windigo back on top 3-2 when his chip shot from the top of the circle found its way thru traffic and eluded the goaltender with 3:27 left in the second period. Max Martin scored his 32nd goal of the year just over 3 minutes into the final period. Will Schumacher contributed consecutive goals to finish out the scoring for the Windigo. Max Beckford earned the win in net for the Windigo, stopping 27 of 29 Wolverine shots on net.
Saturday, February 2: Wolverines 2 at Windigo 5: Luke Baker commenced the scoring with his 4th goal of the season with a wrist shot from the top of the circle that beat the Wolverine goal tender to the short side. Jackson Stimple tied the game for the Wolverines 50 seconds later. Quinn Disher redirected a shot to put the Windigo back on top, 2-1. The Wolverines answered with a goal of their own a few minutes later and the first period ended in a 2-2 tie. In the second period, the Windigo took control of the game as they scored three unanswered goals (two in the second period and one in the third period) and went on to win 5-2. Jacob Jastrzebski and Braydon Beahm scored midway thru the second. Logan Nickolaus scored his 6th of the year, from Zach Cline and Cashen Naeve, at 13:20 of the final period. Linards Lipskis recorded his 14th win in net, with 20 saves on the night. The Windigo placed 27 shots on net.
Coach’s Comments: Windigo head coach Blake Hietala offered the following after the weekend series: “This was an important series for us. Anchorage is a very good team, and they are poised to make a strong push heading into the playoffs. Taking 4 points from them this weekend was important. In addition to our scoring leaders like Martin, Schumacher and Grahme, we continue to get production throughout the lineup. Disher continues to get better every game since joining the team in December. It was great to see guys like Gulley, Baker and Nickolaus, score as well this weekend. Guys like that contribute a lot to our success, much of which goes unnoticed most of the time. Janesville will be a tough opponent next weekend. We are playing with confidence now and we need to keep the momentum going.”
Up Next: The Windigo stay home to host the Janesville Jets. The series will determine if the Windigo sit alone on top in the Midwest Division or share that position with Janesville. The Jets hold second in the division standings, just 4 points behind the Windigo, but they hold two games in hand. Please note the change in start times for the games. Friday’s game commences at 6pm and Saturday’s game commences at 5:30pm.