Thirty-four shots on goal were not enough for the Minnesota Wilderness Friday night. Time and time again they came up short against goaltender Tomas Bolo and fell 1-0 to the St. Cloud Norsemen.
The Wilderness (12-8-2) peppered the Norsemen net with 26 shots in the final two periods and finished the game with a 34-15 shots-on-goal advantage. Yet it was St. Cloud (9-11-2) forward Daniels Murnieks who ended up being the game’s only goal scorer, when he hurled the puck past Isak Posch from the bottom of the right circle 11:06 into the first period.
St. Cloud also managed to stall the vaunted Wilderness power play, which came up short on all seven of its chances, after entering the game with the NAHL’s top success rate with the man-advantage at 31.5%. Meanwhile, Minnesota’s penalty kill finished the game perfect, denying all four Norsemen chances.
Posch’s record fell to 10-6-1 after making 14 saves.
The loss snapped Minnesota’s 3-game winning streak, and ends its 4-game home stand with a 3-1 record.
The rematch and final game of the season-series between the two squads is set for Saturday night in St. Cloud. Puck drop at the Municipal Athletic Complex is set for 7 p.m.