Weekend Recap: Supremacy in the Midwest Division was at stake as the Windigo hosted the Minnesota Wilderness this past weekend. With division leading Janesville Jets off for the weekend, the outcome of the series would determine who sits on top of the division standings. The Wilderness brought a 21-11-2-1 (wins-losses-OT losses- shootout losses) record into the weekend, good for 45 points. The Windigo registered 42 points going into the series with a 19-10-3-1 record.
Friday, January 12: Wilderness 1 at Windigo 7: The Wilderness came out of the gate flying and took advantage of Windigo turnovers to apply early pressure, jumping to a 6 to 2 shots on goal advantage. They scored first just 4:12 into the game. Windigo forward Jacob Jastrzebski continued his hot hand with a power play goal 10 minutes later. Daniil Dolzhenko took a pass from forward Quinn Disher and found Jastrzebski crashing the net. Jastrzebski redirected Dolzhenko’s pass into the back of the net to tie the game. Several big saves by Windigo netminder Max Beckford kept the Wilderness off the scoreboard for the remainder of the first period. League scoring leader Max Martin put his team up 2-1, just over 10 minuets into the middle stanza. Luke Baker set up Martin’s goal with a nice feed from below the goal line. Martin’s quick snapshot from the low slot turned out to be the game winner. Martin (from Carter Theissen and Elliot Gulley) scored again a minute later to put the Windigo up 3-1. The onslaught continued 11 seconds later when Brayden Beahm buried a rebound off at shot from Quinn Disher. Jastrzebski scored the 4th goal of the second period for the Windigo on a 2 on 1. He received a backhand pass from Beahm and wristed the puck into the far side of the net. The play was initiated by a takeaway by Windigo defenseman Cashen Naeve in his own zone. Naeve executed a quick transition by forwarding the puck to Disher, who in turn, fed Beahm rushing up ice along the far boards. Will Schumacher put the Windigo up 6-1 just 35 seconds into the third period with a shot from the mid-slot, after receiving a pass from Tyler Grahme. Zach Cline’s exceptional speed was on full display when he pounced on a loose puck in the neutral zone and headed up ice on a break away. Cline buried a wrist shot to conclude the scoring with 9:32 remaining in the game. Beckford recorded his 8th win of the season by turning aside 14 of 15 shots. The Windigo registered 34 shots on the net, 26 of which came in the final 2 periods. The Windigo were 1 for 3 on power play attempts, while the Wilderness were 0 for 3 with the man advantage.
Saturday, January 13: Wilderness 4 at Windigo 3 (SO): As they did on Friday, the Wilderness came ready to play from the opening faceoff. They jumped out to a two goal lead 12 minutes into the game. Their 2nd goal was scored with just 2 seconds remaining on a power play. The Windigo responded with offensive zone pressure, outshooting the Wilderness 11 to 4 in the opening period. Will Schumacher’s power play goal 13:52 into the game seemed to ignite his teammates. Everett Pietila dished the puck to Max Martin planted at the goal line. Martin found Schumacher all alone in the far side of the slot, allowing him a clean shooting lane to the net. A failed clearing attempt by a Windigo defenseman resulted in the Wilderness increasing their lead to 3-1 early in the 2nd period. League scoring leader Max Martin netted his 27th goal of the season when his one-timer from the faceoff dot found its mark just under the crossbar. Martin’s power play goal was set up by Everett Pietila and Erick Comstock. Quinn Disher scored his 1st goal as a Windigo to tie the game at 3, with 6 minutes remaining in the second period. Disher’s goal was set up by a clean win off the draw by Elliot Gulley. The Windigo applied intense pressure throughout the scoreless third period, but Wilderness netminder Nick Erickson shut down several scoring chances to force the game into overtime. After 5 minutes of scoreless 3 on 3 overtime action, the game would be decided via shootout. All 3 Windigo shooters failed to score. The Wilderness scored on their first shootout attempt to pick up the win. The Windigo carried the play throughout much of the game, outshooting their opponent 36 to 15. Windigo netminder Linards Lipskis stopped 12 of 15 shots in regulation and overtime to take the loss in net.
Coach’s Comments: Windigo head coach Blake Hietala had the following thoughts after the weekend series: “For the most part, I was pleased with our effort this weekend. After slow starts on both nights, we played very well for the most part. Beckford kept the game close early in the game on Friday. We have several players capable of scoring in bunches and we saw that materialize. Erickson kept them in the game on Saturday. We had several great scoring chances that would have beat most goalies in the league. We need to protect the puck a little better at times. We gained a little ground in the division. We need to keep it going.”
Up Next: The Windigo embark on a 3,462 journey to Soldotna, AK, to take on the Kenai River Brown Bears on January 19-20 and then head north to Fairbanks for a 3-games set Jan 26-27. The Windigo return home to host the Anchorage Wolverines Feb 2-3, at 7pm. Tickets are $10 for general admission and $15 for the reserved access section. Visit www.wisconsinjuniorhockey.com/tickets.