The two hottest teams in the NAHL’s Midwest Division clash for two games this weekend in Cloquet. The Minnesota Wilderness and Kenai River Brown Bears share the division’s longest winning streak at three games and enter the weekend with just two points separating them in the division standings.
Last weekend, the Brown Bears (11-13-3) completed a road sweep of the Springfield Jr. Blues – snagging an overtime victory Friday, 4-3, before winning the Saturday series-finale, 5-4.
The Wilderness (12-13-3) were also on the road last weekend and took home four points vs. the Janesville Jets, winning by scores of 5-1 and 7-2.
Minnesota and Kenai River met twice previously this season. The Wilderness won both contests in Soldotna, AK, 6-3 and 5-2, respectively, on Nov. 1 and 2.
Wilderness players will embark on their holiday break upon the completion of this weekend’s games, as these will be the team’s final two contests before January.
Both games in the Friday/Saturday series are set to begin at 7:15 p.m. at Northwoods Credit Union Arena.
Media: All games can be seen on nahltv.com
Midwest Division standings:
| Place | Team | Games Played | Points | This weekend’s opponent |
| 1 | Wisconsin | 27 | 41 | 2 games @ Chippewa |
| 2 | Anchorage | 25 | 37 | 2 games @ Janesville |
| 3 | Fairbanks | 23 | 36 | 2 games @ Springfield |
| 4 | Wilderness | 28 | 27 | 2 games vs. Kenai River |
| 5 | Springfield | 24 | 26 | 2 games vs. Fairbanks |
| 6 | Chippewa | 26 | 25 | 2 games vs. Wisconsin |
| 6 | Kenai River | 27 | 25 | 2 games @ Wilderness |
| 8 | Janesville | 24 | 15 | 2 games vs. Anchorage |
Tale of the Tape
| Team | GF | GA | PP | PK |
| Kenai River | 72 | 91 | 12 for 100 (12%) | 26 for 121 (78.5%) |
| Wilderness | 100 | 102 | 26 for 131 (19.9%) | 20 for 102 (80.4%) |