Call it the weekend of the goalies.
One night after watching Springfield Jr. Blues goaltender Carson Dorfman keep his Minnesota Wilderness off the scoreboard, Isak Posch was not about to let him be the only one to finish the weekend with a shutout. Posch answered the call Saturday rnight, stopping all 26 Springfield shots in leading the Wilderness to a 2-0 victory.
The win allows Minnesota to gain a split in the two-game home series after Springfield won Friday’s contest 1-0.
As the Jr. Blues did Friday night, Minnesota was aided by a 1st period goal to allow it to play with a lead. Beau Janzig notched his third of the season when a shot from the left circle went in off the body of a Jr. Blue defender, going into the net on Dorfman’s stick side. Noah Griswold and Gustavs Ozolins combined to assist on Janzig’s tally at 2:31 of the opening frame.
The game then fell into a bit of a stalemate for the remainder of the first and entirety of the 2nd period. Going into the 3rd, both teams were even in shots on goal at 21. Minnesota (7-4-2) turned up the intensity in the final frame outshooting Springfield (5-8-0) by a 13-5 count, and would add to its lead thanks to a needle-threader from newcomer Oliver Stümpel. The veteran from Torrance, CA, ripped a wrist shot from the left half-boards that slipped between Dorfman’s right shoulder and just beneath the crossbar as the goaltender was positioned near the post to his right. It was the first in a Wilderness uniform for Stümpel, who was playing in his 2nd game after being acquired from the Corpus Christi Ice Rays. The goal with 10:43 remaining was assisted by Gunnar Thoreson and Michael Quinn.
Posch then held off Springfield for the remainder of the contest, thanks in part to a penalty with 2:09 left that forced the Jr. Blues to be short-handed for most of the time remaining in their comeback effort. It’s the 2nd shutout in three games for the veteran from Ümea, Sweden, who allowed only one goal in the game that did not result in a shutout.
For the weekend, Posch finished with 52 saves on 53 shots in the two games, and now boasts a record of 5-3-1. Dorfman is now 3-2 in his rookie season after turning aside 66 of Minnesota’s 68 shots on goal in the series.
The Wilderness will close out their 8-game home stand next weekend, with St. Cloud coming in for a game Friday at 7:15p.m. at Northwoods Credit Union Arena. That will be followed by a rematch in St. Cloud on Saturday night.