Who: Minnesota Wilderness vs. Chippewa Steel
When: Jan. 26, 7:00 p.m.; Jan. 27, 7:15 p.m., CST both nights
Where: Jan. 26 at Chippewa Area Ice Arena, Chippewa Falls, WI; Jan. 27 at Northwoods Credit Union Arena, Cloquet, MN
The lead: The Minnesota Wilderness and Chippewa Steel will conclude their 10-game season series with a pair of games this weekend.
Media: All of the action can be seen on nahltv.com.
Records: Chippewa: 38 games, 17-16-5, 39 points; Minnesota: 40 games, 22-14-4, 48 points
Midwest Division Standings:
| Place | Team | Points | Games Played | This week’s opponent(s) |
| 1 | Janesville | 49 | 36 | 2 games @ Springfield |
| 1 | Wisconsin | 49 | 37 | 3 games @ Fairbanks |
| 3 | Wilderness | 48 | 40 | Home/home vs. Chippewa |
| 4 | Anchorage | 44 | 34 | Home/home vs.Kenai River |
| 5 | Chippewa | 39 | 38 | Home/home vs. Wilderness |
| 6 | Fairbanks | 32 | 39 | 3 games vs. Wisconsin |
| 7 | Springfield | 31 | 37 | 2 games vs. Janesville |
| 8 | Kenai River | 26 | 37 | Home/home vs. Anchorage |
Last week: Chippewa beat the Wilderness 3-2 in a shootout on 1/17, plus:
- Janesville swept the Steel in a home/home series: 4-2 in Chippewa on 1/19 and 3-2 in Janesville on 1/20.
- St. Cloud swept the Wilderness in a home/home series: 5-2 in St. Cloud on 1/19 and 2-1 in Cloquet on 1/20.
Season Series: These two games will conclude a 10-game season series between the Steel and Wilderness. Minnesota leads the season set with a 6-0-2 record. In Chippewa Falls, Minnesota has a record of 3-0-2; while at home it has a record of 3-0.
Tale of the tape:
| Team | GF | GA | PP | PK | PIMs |
| Wilderness | 107 | 111 | 21% | 85.1% | 518 |
| Chippewa | 111 | 129 | 11% | 77.9% | 447 |
Source: nahl.com
Purmalis Named 2nd Star: The NAHL this week named forward Peteris Purmalis as the Midwest Division’s 2nd Star of the Week. The 20-year-old from Liepaja, Latvia, last week accumulated five points (4 goals/1 assist) over three games. On Jan. 17 at Chippewa, Purmalis posted two goals; he followed that with a 1 goal, 1 assist performance on 1/19 at St. Cloud, and finished the weekend with a goal on 1/20 at home versus St. Cloud. Purmalis leads the Wilderness in scoring with 16 goals, 20 assists and 36 points.
Anderson Joins Team: The Wilderness added a veteran presence to its blue line last week. 20-year-old Parker Anderson played his first three games with the team, beginning with the 1/17 game at Chippewa. The native of Plymouth, MI, is in his 2nd season of Jr. hockey having played 78 games prior to coming to Cloquet. Most of Anderson’s junior career was spent with the Austin Bruins. He skated in 46 contests with the Bruins in 2022-23, including 9 playoff games where he helped the Bruins advance to the Robertson Cup Finals.
“Hawke” Huff Tendered: The Wilderness last week announced it has tendered defenseman Luken “Hawke” Huff. Huff is a 6’3”, 190 lb native of Mazama, WA, and is currently a senior at Wayzata, HS in Minnesota. With the Trojans, Huff has posted 1 goal and 9 assists through 16 games this season. Huff registered those exact numbers playing 23 games (including playoffs) last Fall with Team Twin Cities Orthopedics of the Upper Midwest High School Elite League. Huff is expected to join the Wilderness after his high school season has concluded.
Springer Commits: Chippewa forward Camden Springer has decided where he plans to play college hockey. Springer, a 17-year-old forward from Dexter, MI, announced earlier this month that he plans to attend Bowling Green State of the CCHA. Springer is in his first season of Jr. hockey. After playing one game with Tri-City of the USHL, Springer joined the Steel. With Chippewa, he has totaled five goals and five assists over 15 games.