Who: Minnesota Wilderness vs. Chippewa Steel
When: Saturday, Sept 23, 7:00 p.m.
Where: Chippewa Area Ice Arena, Chippewa Falls, WI
The lead: Two Midwest Division rivals open their season series Saturday as the Wilderness visits Chippewa
Media: All of the action can be seen on nahltv.com.
Records: Chippewa: 5 games, 2-3-0, 4 points; Minnesota: 5 games, 1-3-1, 3 points
Midwest Division Standings:
|
Place |
Team |
Points |
Games played |
|
1 |
Janesville |
8 |
6 |
|
2 |
Anchorage |
7 |
5 |
|
3 |
Wisconsin |
6 |
5 |
|
3 |
Kenai River |
6 |
4 |
|
5 |
Chippewa |
4 |
5 |
|
6 |
Wilderness |
3 |
5 |
|
6 |
Fairbanks |
3 |
6 |
|
8 |
Springfield |
0 |
4 |
Last weekend: At the NAHL Showcase, Chippewa went 2-2 with victories over Danbury (8-3) and Bismarck (4-3), and was defeated by Maine (7-2) and St. Cloud (2-1). The Wilderness defeated Maryland 1-0, suffered an overtime loss to New Jersey (5-4) and regulation defeats to Amarillo (4-1) and Aberdeen (4-3).
2022-23 season series: The Wilderness had points in 8 of 10 games vs. the Steel to finish with a 7-2-1 record. It was a close series with eight of the contests finishing with a one-goal margin of victory and four games decided in either overtime or shootout.
Birthdays: Nick Troutwine (D) turned 20 on Sept. 18 and Harper Searles (F) will turn 18 on Sept. 24.
Early Leaders: While Minnesota could only muster one win and three points in this season’s Showcase, it did manage to hold a lead a in all four contests, and led or was tied in the third period in all four games. The Wilderness also scored first in three of the four games.
Power Play Surge: After struggling to light the lamp in its first four games on the power play, the Wilderness man-advantage units came to life in its most recent outing vs. Aberdeen. The Wilderness entered the game 1 for 18 with the extra man, and went on to quadruple its season power play goal total by scoring three vs. the Wings. Adam Johnson deposited two of the goals while Aiden Shirey scored once. Oliver Stümpel scored the team’s first power play goal of the season on Sept. 13 vs. New Jersey.
Uberti Posts Shutout: Loris Uberti’s 23-save shutout on Sept 15 vs. Maryland marked the first time the Wilderness blanked an opponent at an NAHL Showcase since 2019. That season, Minnesota defeated Shreveport 3-0. It also was the second time the Wilderness won a Showcase game 1-0, with the first coming in 2014 vs. Corpus Christi.
New Chippewa Head Coach: The Steel this summer announced Chris Ratzloff as the organization’s new head coach and general manager. A Rochester, MN, native, Ratzloff replaces Casey Mignone who left to become an assistant coach at the University of Alaska-Fairbanks. Ratzloff most recently spent four seasons as the head coach of the Rochester Grizzlies of the NA3HL, where he led the organization to a Fraser Cup championship in 2022. Prior to being hired by the Grizzlies, Ratzloff spent seven seasons behind the bench of Rochester John Marshall High School as an assistant coach. During his playing career, Ratzloff skated for the University of Wisconsin-River Falls, and helped the Falcons win a NCAA Division 3 title in 1994.