Who: Minnesota Wilderness vs. Chippewa Steel
When: Friday at 7p.m., Saturday at 7:15p.m.
Where: Friday at Chippewa Area Hockey Arena, Chippewa Falls, WI; Saturday at Northwoods Credit Union Arena, Cloquet, MN
The lead: Wilderness, winners of 4 straight, meet the Steel, winless in their last 4
Records: Wilderness: 19-18-1, 39 pts; Steel: 17-18-2, 36 pts.
NAHL Midwest Division standings:
| Team | Points | Games played | |
| 1 | Springfield | 52 | 36 |
| 1 | Fairbanks | 52 | 39 |
| 3 | Anchorage | 45 | 36 |
| 4 | MN Wilderness | 39 | 38 |
| 4 | MN Magicians | 39 | 38 |
| 6 | Chippewa | 36 | 37 |
| 7 | Janesville | 35 | 37 |
| 8 | Kenai River | 23 | 39 |
Previous games: The Wilderness completed a second consecutive sweep of the Minnesota Magicians to extend their winning streak to 4. They won Friday at home 5-3, and Saturday in Richfield, 7-0. Chippewa Traveled to Springfield and lost both games in the road series by identical 5-2 scores.
Season series: These will be the 7th and 8th meetings of the season for these two teams. The Steel have won 4 of the previous 6, including the last 3.
TPT Talent: The NAHL this week announced the rosters for its Top Prospects Tournament, to be played Feb. 7-8 at the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex in Cranberry Township, PA. The tournament is primarily made up of players who have not yet secured college commitments, with a handful of exceptions made for those identified as prospects by the NHL Central Scouting Bureau (CSB). The Wilderness will have two defensemen representing the Midwest Division: Max Ruoho, an uncommitted 20-year-old from Verona, WI, and Aaron Pionk, a 19-year-old from Hermantown who recently committed to MSU-Mankato and who was recently included on the CSB’s mid-season report for June’s upcoming NHL draft.
Massive Margin: Saturday’s 7-0 win over the Minnesota Magicians ties a Wilderness record for largest margin of victory for a road game. The previous record was set on March 28, 2015, in an 8-1 win over the Coulee Region Chill.
Max-mania! Max Neill is currently in the midst of his longest goal-scoring streak of his NAHL career. The forward from Portage La Prairie, Manitoba, has scored in each of his last 4 games. The biggest of the goals scored in that span came last Friday, when his tally with 3:20 left in the 2nd period resulted in being the game-winner.
Deuces Wild: Gunnar Thoreson jumped into a tie for the team’s lead in assists last weekend, while continuing his own type of point streak. Thoreson has now posted 2 assists in 3-consecutive games. The 6 helpers now give him 28 on the season, which places him even with Max Ruoho in that stat category.
Friday Firsts: Two rookie forwards posted career firsts Friday. Bryce Howard scored twice for his first 2-goal game, while Calvin Knight’s 3 assists gave him his first multi-point game. Howard is a Celina, TX, native now with 7 goals and 4 assists for 11 points on the season, while Knight, from Thornton, CO, has 4 points, all from assists.
Steel Notes: Three Steel players will be headed to PA for next month’s Top Prospects tournament. Chippewa’s representatives include two forwards and a goalie, all from Minnesota. Ethan Benz, from Shakopee, and Jack Brown, from Woodbury, will skate as forwards for Team Midwest, and they’ll be joined by goaltender and St. Paul-native Croix Kochendorfer.