The Minnesota Wilderness hope to maintain mid-season momentum this weekend with a pair of games vs. the Chippewa Steel. The two squads meet in a home and home series with each team hosting one game – Friday night’s game will be in Chippewa Falls, while Saturday night, the two rivals will meet in Cloquet.
Minnesota (22-7-2) enters the series on a 4-game winning streak. The Wilderness and Steel each played three games last week. They opened the new year meeting each other at Northwoods Credit Union Arena in Cloquet with Minnesota winning, 4-2. It was the fifth win in five contests vs. Chippewa.
The Steel (6-23-2) followed last Thursday’s matchup vs. the Wilderness with a 2-game home series vs. the Anchorage Wolverines. On Friday, Chippewa battled through for a 7-6 shootout victory, while Anchorage responded with a 5-1 win Saturday.
The Wilderness swept a 2-game series vs. the Kenai River Brown Bears Jan. 2-3, with a 5-1 triumph Friday and winning 6-3 Saturday.
Friday night’s game at Chippewa Area Ice Arena begins at 7:00 p.m. CST, while Saturday’s contest in Cloquet is set for 7:15 p.m. CST.
Media: All games can be seen on NAHLTV.com
Midwest Division standings
| Place | Team | Games Played | Points | This week’s opponent (all games Fri./Sat. unless otherwise noted) |
| 1 | Wilderness | 31 | 46 | Fri. @ Chippewa, Sat. vs. Chippewa |
| 2 | Fairbanks | 32 | 42 | 2 vs. Janesville |
| 3 | Springfield | 33 | 40 | 2 @ Wisconsin |
| 4 | Wisconsin | 32 | 39 | 2 vs. Springfield |
| 5 | Anchorage | 31 | 32 | Thurs. @ Anchorage, Fri. @ Kenai River |
| 6 | Janesville | 33 | 29 | 2 @ Fairbanks |
| 7 | Kenai River | 31 | 23 | Thurs. @ Anchorage, Fri. vs. Anchorage |
| 8 | Chippewa | 31 | 14 | Fri. vs. Wilderness, Sat. @ Wilderness |
Tale of the Tape:
| Team | GF | GA | PP | PK |
| Chippewa | 70 | 150 | 13 for 108 (12%) | 39 for 164 (76.2%) |
| Wilderness | 138 | 82 | 29 for 129 (22.7%) | 28 for 130 (78.5%) |