The Minnesota Wilderness fell behind by two goals twice Saturday night and could not fully recover, falling 3-2 in a preseason game vs. the Austin Bruins.
The Wilderness did not score until the Bruins staked themselves to a 2-0 lead. Austin scored goals late in the first period and early in the second – by Luc Malkhassian and Tyler Shaver, respectively. Minnesota responded when Landon Marleau lit the lamp just 23 seconds after Shaver’s tally to make the score 2-1.
The Bruins then re-claimed their 2-goal advantage thanks to a power play goal from Jackson Rilei at 9:08 of the middle stanza The Wilderness added one more goal in the third from Drew Beasley to cut its deficit to one goal.
Simon Zille and Kyle Abrahamson split time in net for the Wilderness, with Zille standing guard in the first period and Abrahamson finishing the game playing the final two frames.
Davin Rustlie played the entire game in goal for Austin.
Next up for the Wilderness will be games that count. Minnesota opens the 2024-25 regular season next weekend, as it hosts the Fairbanks Ice Dogs in a 2-game series Sept 13 and 14.