The Minnesota Wilderness return to the ice this weekend for a 2-game series vs. the Fairbanks Ice Dogs. The squads will tangle at the Red Baron Arena in Marshall, MN, Friday and Saturday nights.
This will mark the second trip the Wilderness will make to Marshall in its history. Minnesota and Fairbanks also met in Marshall during the 2021-22 season. Marshall is considered a second home to the Ice Dogs ever since they played most of their 2020-21 schedule in the southwestern Minnesota city due to COVID-19 restrictions in Alaska that prevented them from playing in their home arena in Fairbanks. Since 2020-21, the Ice Dogs have staged one weekend of games in Marshall to show appreciation to fans that welcomed them during the pandemic.
These will be Minnesota’s first games since Nov. 21-22. That weekend, the Wilderness split a home series with the Janesville Jets. Janesville claimed game 1, 5-2, while the Wilderness countered with a 3-0 victory in game 2.
Fairbanks split its last series as well. The Ice Dogs hosted the Kenai River Brown Bears on Nov. 28-29 in a series that began with a 5-4 Kenai win and ended with a 5-3 Fairbanks victory.
These contests are the first of five on the 2025-26 docket between the Ice Dogs and Wilderness. Last season, the two teams also squared off five times with Fairbanks winning three games.
With these games being the only two between Minnesota and Fairbanks being played outside of Fairbanks for this regular season, the Wilderness will be designated as the home team for on-ice rules.
Puck drop in both contests is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
Media: Both games will stream on NAHLTV.com.
Midwest Division standings
| Place | Team | Games Played | Points | This week’s opponent (all games Fri./Sat. unless otherwise noted) |
| 1 | Wisconsin | 25 | 31 | 1 @ Janesville (Sat.) |
| 2 | Wilderness | 22 | 30 | 2 vs. Fairbanks in Marshall, MN |
| 2 | Fairbanks | 24 | 30 | 2 vs. Wilderness in Marshall, MN |
| 4 | Springfield | 25 | 29 | 3 vs. Kenai River (Thurs., Fri., Sat.) |
| 5 | Janesville | 25 | 25 | 1 @ Chippewa (Fri.), 1 vs. Wisconsin (Sat.) |
| 6 | Anchorage | 24 | 25 | Idle |
| 7 | Kenai River | 23 | 19 | 3 @ Springfield (Thurs., Fri., Sat.) |
| 8 | Chippewa | 22 | 10 | 1 vs. Janeville (Fri.) |
Tale of the Tape:
| Team | GF | GA | PP | PK |
| Fairbanks | 87 | 66 | 21 for 89 (23.6%) | 15 for 66 (77.3%) |
| Wilderness | 95 | 62 | 23 for 102 (22.5%) | 24 for 101 (76.2%) |