The Minnesota Wilderness put 33 shots on the Anchorage Wolverines Friday night, but nothing got past the Anchorage netminder, as Minnesota fell 4-0 in game 1 of a Midwest Division Semi-final series.
Liam Beerman earned the shutout with 12 of his saves coming in the first period, as the Wilderness opened the game outshooting Anchorage 12-8. Anchorage then went on to outshoot Minnesota 28-21 over the final 40 minutes, to finish with a 36-33 advantage.
Four different players scored for Anchorage. Bryce Monrean and Cole Christian lit the lamp with second period tallies while Tyler Hennen and Oliver Salo scored in the third.
Salo’s goal came on an empty Wilderness net, just seconds after Minnesota had its finest scoring chance in the game. Logan Nagle caught a centering pass from Alessandro Lurati as Nagle was positioned all alone directly in front of the Wolverine goal mouth. Beerman denied Nagle with an outstanding save, and then earned an assist on Salo’s goal with 2:23 left in the third period.
Wilderness goaltender Adam Prokop kept his team in the game, making 32 saves on 35 shots, as he played in his first ever career NAHL Robertson Cup playoff game.
The Wilderness penalty kill was flawless, as it kept Anchorage off the board in its five power play opportunities. Minnesota finished 0-for-3 on the man-advantage.
Game 2 in the best-of-five series will be Saturday night in Anchorage. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. AKDT.