Many Minnesota Wilderness fans left Northwoods Credit Union Arena wondering if their team may have been robbed of a victory Saturday night.
Cell phone video of Ren Morque’s attempt in the shootout’s fifth round appears to show the puck crossing the goal line behind Wisconsin Windigo netminder Max Beckford. If it had been deemed a goal, the Wilderness would have been triumphant. However, officials did not see the puck cross the goal line, and their subsequent review of the goal on tablets providing video from a camera positioned above the net was deemed inconclusive.
In the sixth round, the Windigo went ahead in the shootout 2-1 after Daniil Dolzhenko scored. That was followed by Beckford denying Nate Murray in his attempt to tie and extend the shootout, and the Windigo won the game, 2-1.
That series of events capped off a thriller of a game between the two Midwest Division rivals. Despite only two goals scored during regulation, both teams displayed playoff-level intensity.
Jacob Jastrzebski gave Wisconsin (38-15-6) the game’s first lead when he tapped in a backhand shot from Everett Pietila with 12:03 left in the 2nd period.
The Wilderness (27-23-5) countered later in the period when Alessandro Lurati notched his eighth of the season. While on the power play, Lurati peppered Beckford with a number of rebound attempts after an initial shot was taken by Peteris Purmalis. Lurati finally managed to jam the puck through Beckford’s pads with 3:02 remaining in the frame.
After regulation and a scoreless 5-minute overtime, the two teams traded single goals in the shootout’s standard first three rounds. Max Martin struck in round 1 for Wisconsin, while Gustavs Ozolins scored in round 2 for Minnesota.
The Wilderness outshot the Windigo, 30-29. Adam Prokop suffered the loss in goal for Minnesota, making 28 saves.
Both teams received four power play chances. The Wilderness converted once, while Wisconsin was held scoreless.
This contest completed the 10-game season series between the Wilderness and Windigo with each squad winning five times.
Due to the game tied at regulation, the Wilderness earned one point, which allowed it to move within one point of the 4th place Chippewa Steel for the division’s final playoff spot. A win would have given Minnesota one additional point and would still be tied with the Steel for the final playoff spot.
The Wilderness still has hope to move up and qualify for the post-season as it has two more games remaining on its schedule than the Steel.
Minnesota next prepares for its final regular season home series. The Wilderness hosts the Springfield Jr. Blues April 4th and 5th with puck drop at 7:15 p.m. for both games.