Who: Minnesota Wilderness vs. Anchorage Wolverines
When: January 5-6, 2024; 7:15 p.m. both nights
Where: Northwoods Credit Union Arena, Cloquet, MN
The lead: The Wilderness looks to bounce back in a weekend series hosting Anchorage, winners of 5 of their last 6.
Media: All of the action can be seen on nahltv.com.
Records: Anchorage: 28 games, 16-8-4, 36 points; Minnesota: 33 games, 19-11-3, 41 points
Midwest Division Standings:
| Place | Team | Points | Games Played | This weekend’s opponent |
| 1 | Janesville | 41 | 32 | 1 game vs. Kenai River, 1 vs. Chippewa |
| 1 | Wilderness | 41 | 33 | 2 games vs. Anchorage |
| 3 | Wisconsin | 38 | 31 | 2 games vs. Kenai River |
| 4 | Anchorage | 36 | 28 | 2 games @ Wilderness |
| 5 | Chippewa | 33 | 32 | 1 game @ Janesville |
| 6 | Fairbanks | 29 | 32 | 3 games @ Springfield |
| 7 | Kenai River | 26 | 32 | 1 games @ Janesvilles, 2 @ Wisconsin |
| 8 | Springfield | 23 | 30 | 3 games vs. Fairbanks |
Last weekend:
- Anchorage swept a pair of games at Chippewa on Jan. 29 and 30; winning 4-3 and 7-2.
- The Wilderness dropped two at home vs. Janesville on Jan. 30 and 31 by scores of 5-1 and 5-2.
Season Series: Anchorage and Minnesota met twice previously this season. Anchorage claimed the season-opener for both teams on Sept. 9, 5-1, while the Wilderness won Oct. 14 in Anchorage, 4-1.
| Team | GF | GA | PP | PK | PIMs |
| Wilderness | 90 | 86 | 22% | 87.5% | 407 |
| Anchorage | 106 | 88 | 20% | 79.8% | 512 |
Source: nahl.com
Birthdays: Wilderness: Peteris Purmalis, Jan. 7 (21); Anchorage: Ameen Ghosheh, Jan. 5 (19)
Nagle Back-to-Back Points: Logan Nagle returned from injury by contributing to the Wilderness offense last weekend. The 5’11, 175 pound forward posted points in back-to-back games for the first time this season when he registered an assist in both contests. Nagle helped set up Joe Cesario’s power play goal on Dec. 30, and followed by assisting on Adam Johnson’s tally that cut Janesville’s lead on Dec. 31 to one goal. The Post Falls, ID, native now has 10 points (3 goals, 7 assists) in 28 games on the season, with six of his points coming in his last nine games.
Peterson First Point: By posting an assist in Saturday’s contest vs. Janesville, Landon Peterson not only registered his first point with the Wilderness, he also snapped a point drought that began last season. The 6’4, 210 pound defenseman from New Prague, MN, skated as a forward in the 5-2 loss and helped set up Slava Tugolukov’s early third period goal which at the time made it 3-1 for the Jets. That assist is the first point for Peterson since joining the Wilderness on Nov. 4, and his first point in his career since March 24, 2023, when he earned an assist for the North Iowa Bulls in a game against the Minot Minotauros. Peterson has played 115 games in his Jr. A career which began in 2021-22 with Notre Dame of the SJHL. In the NAHL, over two seasons he has played a combined total of 66 games with the Wilderness and North Iowa, posting three goals and four assists for seven points.
Monrean Named SOW: Anchorage forward Bryce Monrean had a huge weekend that led to him being named last week’s Bauer Midwest Division Star of the Week. The forward from Anchorage, AK, finished with seven points in leading the Wolverines to a road sweep of the Chippewa Steel. Monrean posted three points (2 goals, 1 assist) in game 1, followed by four points (1 goal, 3 assists) in game 2. The 6’1, 180 pound Monrean is averaging a point-per-game with 28 points (10 goals/18 assists) in 28 games.