The Minnesota Wilderness go toe-to-toe this weekend against the team it is chasing for the Midwest Division’s final playoff spot. The Chippewa Steel will be in Cloquet Friday, while the two squads will meet again Saturday in Chippewa Falls, WI.
The Steel occupy fourth place in the division with 60 points, six points ahead of the Wilderness in fifth place with 54 points. The Wilderness must win at least one of the games this weekend in order to remain in contention to make the 2025 Robertson Cup playoffs.
Last weekend, both teams split home weekend series. The Steel fell to the Springfield Jr. Blues in their Friday night contest, 3-2, then rebounded to win Saturday, 4-1.
The Wilderness dropped a 5-3 decision to the Janesville Jets, Friday, 5-3, before trouncing the Jets, 8-1, Saturday.
These will be the seventh and eighth meetings of the 2024-25 season between the Wilderness and Steel. The Wilderness have a 1-4-1 record in a season series that Chippewa has already clinched.
Friday’s game at Northwoods Credit Union Arena is slated to start at 7:15 p.m.; Saturday night’s contest at Chippewa Area Ice Arena is set for 7 p.m.
Media: NAHLTV.com
Midwest Division standings:
| Place | Team | Games Played | Points | This weekend’s opponent |
| 1x | Wisconsin | 53 | 76 | 2 games @ Fairbanks |
| 2x | Fairbanks | 52 | 72 | 2 games vs. Wisconsin |
| 3x | Anchorage | 53 | 68 | 2 games vs. Kenai River |
| 4 | Chippewa | 52 | 60 | Home/home vs. Wilderness |
| 5 | Wilderness | 53 | 54 | Home/home vs. Chippewa |
| 6 | Springfield | 53 | 53 | 2 games vs. Janesville |
| 7 | Kenai River | 53 | 49 | 2 games @ Anchorage |
| 8 | Janesville | 53 | 36 | 2 games @ Springfield |
x = clinched playoff spot
Tale of the Tape:
| Team | GF | GA | PP | PK |
| Chippewa | 159 | 163 | 43 for 228 (18.9%) | 34 for 211 (83.9%) |
| Wilderness | 188 | 183 | 50 for 243 (20.6%) | 32 for 194 (83.5%) |