Ashton Dahms capped off a 3-point night by scoring the most dramatic goal of the season thus far for the Minnesota Wilderness. The forward from Lakeville, MN, completed an end-to-end rush by crashing the Springfield net and scoring 3:42 into overtime to defeat the Jr. Blues, 4-3.
Oliver Band and Beau Janzig assisted on the winning marker, which is Dahms’ fourth in only three games played with Minnesota this season.
That goal was the cherry on top of what was a dramatic game between the two Midwest Division rivals, which saw Springfield battle back from a 3-0 first-period deficit to tie the contest late in the third. Trey Jefferis and Bobby Bartell lit the lamp 29 seconds apart in the final minute to even the score at three.
The Wilderness seemed to take control of the game when it built its 3-goal lead in the opening period. It began when Adam Johnson scored on the power play 6:30 into the contest. The veteran forward from Mahtomedi pounced on a loose puck that slipped past goaltender Nick Bunch after a shot from Lucca Ricciardi left the puck just sitting in the blue paint in front of an open net, that Johnson easily slipped in to make the score 1-0.
Dahms then helped set up the next goal just a little over four minutes later. He and Harper Searles assisted on Peteris Purmalis’s marker with 9:13 remaining that came off a 3-on-2 rush, and some slick passing. After crossing the Springfield line, Searles, on the left, dealt the puck to Dahms in the middle, who then sent it to Purmalis in the right circle. The Latvian forward cashed in with a one-time shot that blistered past Bunch to give him his fourth tally of the campaign, and Minnesota a two-goal lead.
Dahms then scored on his own to make it 3-0. Janzig set up this play when he won a puck battle along the right boards and then found Dahms who completed the play with a goal with 5:07 left in the first stanza.
Springfield began its comeback before the first period was over. Jake Peterson scored a goal to give him his first of what would be three points on the night with 2:54 remaining.
Ben Dardis picked up the win in net to earn his first victory of the season, and evened his record to 1-1. The veteran goaltender from Mahtomedi, MN, stopped 27 of 30 Jr. Blues shots.
J.J. Cataldo replaced Bunch in the Springfield (0-6-2) net early in the 2nd period and took the loss.
The Wilderness outshot Springfield 36-30.
On the power play, the Wilderness finished 1-for-4 and kept the Jr. Blues off the scoreboard in its four chances.
The game also marked the final game in Proctor for the Wilderness (3-3-2), who used the St. Luke’s Sports and Event Center as a temporary home while repairs were being made to Cloquet’s Northwoods Credit Union Arena. With its true home rink now ready to go and repairs completed, the Wilderness will head to Cloquet for practices beginning Monday and will have its first game of the season in the Wood City on Oct. 20.
In the three games played in Proctor, the Wilderness finished with two wins and one loss.
Minnesota next heads to the extreme north for its next four games. It embarks on its first trip to Alaska of the 23-24 campaign this week. Its first opponent will be the Fairbanks Ice Dogs, with a 2-game weekend series set for October 6 and 7.