Who: Minnesota Wilderness vs. Janesville Jets
When: Dec. 30, 7:15 p.m.; Dec. 31, 4:15 p.m.
Where: Northwoods Credit Union Arena, Cloquet, MN
The lead: The Wilderness return from holiday break for its first home weekend vs. Janesville
Media: All of the action can be seen on nahltv.com.
Records: Janesville: 30 games, 17-10-3, 37 points; Minnesota: 31 games, 19-9-3, 41 points
Midwest Division Standings:
| Place | Team | Points | Games Played | This weekend’s opponent |
| 1 | Wilderness | 41 | 31 | 2 games vs. Janesville |
| 2 | Wisconsin | 38 | 31 | Idle |
| 3 | Janesville | 37 | 30 | 2 games @ Wilderness |
| 3 | Chippewa | 33 | 30 | 2 games vs. Anchorage |
| 3 | Anchorage | 32 | 26 | 2 games @ Chippewa |
| 6 | Fairbanks | 29 | 32 | Idle |
| 7 | Kenai River | 26 | 32 | Idle |
| 8 | Springfield | 23 | 30 | Idle |
2 weeks ago:
- Janesville completed a home sweep of Kenai River on Dec. 15-16, with 4-2 and 4-0 victories.
- The Wilderness outlasted Chippewa in Chippewa Falls with a 4-3 overtime win on Dec. 15.
Season Series: Minnesota and Janesville met four previous times during the 2023-24 season, with each team winning twice. The previous matchups were in Janesville, with the two splitting a series Nov. 10-11, Janesville winning, 5-4, and Minnesota winning 1-0; and a series Nov. 24-25, with the Jets claiming a 6-3 victory, followed by a Wilderness 5-4 win.
Tale of the tape:
| Team | GF | GA | PP | PK | PIMs |
| Wilderness | 87 | 76 | 22% | 87% | 384 |
| Janesville | 123 | 92 | 21% | 85% | 428 |
Source: nahl.com
Special Teams Trends: The Wilderness penalty kill and power play entered the holiday break on opposite trajectories. On the man-advantage, Minnesota finished its last three games without a goal on 14 chances. Minnesota last scored on the power play in the 2 nd period of its game on Dec. 8 vs. Fairbanks. Meanwhile, on the PK, the Wilderness has held opponents scoreless in the last five games. The last power play goal scored by an opponent came on Dec. 1 at Wisconsin.
New Year’s Eve Tradition: Sunday afternoon’s contest will mark Minnesota’s first New Year’s Eve game in two seasons. The Wilderness has played eight contests in its history on the final day of the year, dating back to its first season in the NAHL in 2013-14. Six of those games have been at Northwoods Credit Union Arena in Cloquet, while two were on the road. On New Year’s Eve, the Wilderness has posted a 3-5 record, with its last victory coming in 2019, when it beat the St. Cloud Blizzard, 5-3. It’s last game on New Year’s Eve came in 2021, when it fell to Fairbanks, 2-1.
Johnson Returns to Score GWG: Playing in his first game since Nov. 3, Adam Johnson returned to the lineup in heroic fashion on Dec. 15. Johnson notched the game-winning goal just 43 seconds into overtime to beat Chippewa, 4-3. It’s the seventh marker of the season for the Mahtomedi, MN, native, who also added an assist in the victory. It’s the second GWG in the NAHL career for Johnson who missed the previous 13 games due to injury.
Erickson Posts Road Win: Nick Erickson’s victory on 12/15 gave him his long-awaited first road win of the season. The Apple Valley, MN, native turned aside 24 of 27 Chippewa Steel shots in the 4-3 overtime triumph. Erickson now has a 1-1 road record, compared to a record of 5-1 in games at home (4-1 at Northwoods Credit Union Arena in Cloquet, and 1-0 at Iron Trail Motors Event Center in Virginia).
Alberti SOW: Jets goaltender Matthew Alberti enters this weekend as the reigning Midwest Division Star of the Week. Alberti denied Kenai River on 72 of 74 shots in the home weekend sweep on Dec. 15-16. In the Friday contest, he made 36 saves to win 4-2, and followed that performance with a 36-save shutout, the first of his junior career, to win 4-0 on Saturday. The Hamburg, NY, native holds a 14-3-3 record with 2.52 GAA and .925 save percentage.