*Photo Contributed by Juan Carlos Wood – @photosbyjcw on Instagram
This past weekend, the Wisconsin Windigo resumed regular-season action with a pair of games against Midwest Division opponents from Alaska. Entering the weekend with just one combined win against the Anchorage Wolverines and Fairbanks Ice Dogs this season, the Windigo would exit the weekend with two wins, helping them secure at least one win against every team in the Midwest Division this season.
Friday, Feb. 20
Final Score: Windigo 5, Wolverines 1
To kick off the weekend, the Windigo posted their second win of the season against the Anchorage Wolverines, who have given Wisconsin trouble at times. Friday night, however, was a different story, as the Windigo opened the scoresheet in the second period after a scoreless first. Team captain Alexios Georgaklis netted his 12th goal of the season to give the Windigo an initial lead. Just under a minute later, Anchorage’s Sam Evert, who is from Milwaukee, WI, leveled the game at a goal apiece. The Wolverines wouldn’t celebrate for long, however, as winger Beau Kralovec gave the Windigo a 2-1 lead 10 seconds later. The tally was Kralovec’s ninth of the year and the 13th of his Windigo career. Five minutes later, Wisconsin center Josh Sardo added onto the busy second period with a goal of his own. The tally was his team-leading 13th goal of the season and he was assisted by winger Jackson Ernst, who recorded his 15th assist on the year.
The third period saw more of the same from the Windigo, who added two more goals while shutting the Wolverines down defensively. One minute into the final period, Wisconsin blueliner Thomas Quast netted a power-play goal for his first goal in a Windigo jersey. Following the two-point night, Quast is up to 22 points across his time with the New Hampshire Mountain Kings and Wisconsin Windigo this season. Later on in the stanza, Windigo winger Will Doherty netted his ninth goal of the season to place the final tally on the scoreboard. His twine finder helped the newly-acquired center Jacob Miller pick up his first point with the Windigo. Miller recorded 27 points across 41 games with the Amarillo Wranglers this season and was acquired by the Windigo at the trade deadline.
While the offense stole the show with five goals on the night, Windigo netminder Easton Cody shined defensively with 30 saves on 31 shots on goal. He now holds a 13-10-0 record with a .901 save percentage across 24 appearances in net this season.
Saturday, Feb. 21
Final Score: Windigo 3, Ice Dogs 1
Entering Saturday’s contest, the Windigo hadn’t beaten the Fairbanks this season, as they lost both meetings to the visiting Ice Dogs during the first weekend of October. On Saturday, the Windigo didn’t squander the opportunity and won in convincing fashion on both ends of the ice. The win helped the Windigo secure a victory against each team in the Midwest Division this season.
Similar to the opening game of the weekend, neither side scored in the first period, with the most notable fact arising during the period being a game-misconduct penalty from Windigo winger Ryan Mottau. Despite being down a man for the remainder of the contest, the Windigo stayed resilient defensively, rotating forwards often to keep fresh legs on the ice.
While the Windigo came out of Saturday’s game on top, they surrendered the first goal when Fairbank’s Harrison Kaszubowski scored the team’s lone goal of the night. From that point, the Windigo pushed the tempo offensively, and managed to outshoot the Ice Dogs 23-14 in the second period. Along the way, Sardo scored just seconds after a faceoff to tie the game up. The goal was his team-leading 14th of the season and 16th all-time, which currently places him in a tie for 18th on the all-time goal leaderboard.
In the third period, the Windigo received the go-ahead goal six minutes into the period from forward AJ Bongiorno. The game-winning tally was his third of the season and third game-winning goal on the year, proving he can elevate his game when Windigo need a goal the most. He was assisted by the newly-acquired defenseman Hunter Friedrich, who handled his way through the offensive zone to place a shot on net that Bongiorno ultimately rebounded in for the goal. The assist was Fridrich’s first point with the Windigo after being acquired by the team at the trade deadline.
To cap off the big win, Wisconsin forward McCarthy Richardson tallied his third goal of the season after a burst of speed through Fairbank’s defensive zone. On the play, assistant captain Riley Joslin picked up his second helper of the game, bringing his season total up to 12 assists. In net, Windigo goalie Max Larsson continued his strong stretch of play by making 38 saves on 39 tries. He is up to a 5-2-0 record, a 1.80 GAA and a .930 save percentage across his first eight outings with the Windigo.
Saturday’s win helped the Windigo secure their 10th win of the calendar year out of 15 total games. Dating back to Jan. 25, the team has won five of its last seven games.
Standings
With the pair of victories, the Windigo are up to a 27-17-1 record through 45 games, which places them third in the Midwest Division. At 55 points, they trail the second-place Ice Dogs by two points, who have a 27-17-3 record through 47 games. With one win in three tries this past weekend, the Anchorage Wolverines maintained their spot in fifth place and currently hold a 22-19-5 record across 46 games.
Up Next
Following the two-win weekend, the Windigo will look ahead to their final regular-season series against the Janesville Jets this season. The two sides will face off in Janesville on Friday, Feb. 27 before the Windigo will host the Jets at Kettle Moraine Ice Center in West Bend, WI on Saturday, Feb. 28.
Puck drop for Friday’s contest is at 7:05 PM CST, and Saturday’s game time is set for 7:25 PM CST. Tickets for each game can be purchased from the team’s website and can also be accessed using this link. If you can’t be there in person, all Windigo home and away games can be streamed on NATV. Visit nahltv.com for more details.
