Who: Minnesota Wilderness vs. Wisconsin Windigo
When: March 29-30, 7:15 p.m. CDT both nights
Where: Northwoods Credit Union Arena, Cloquet, MN
Media: All of the action can be seen on nahltv.com.
Records: Wisconsin – 57 games, 37-14-6, 80 points; Minnesota – 54 games, 27-23-4, 58 points
Midwest Division Standings:
| Place | Team | Points | Games Played | This weekend’s opponent | Clinched playoffs |
| 1 | Wisconsin | 80 | 57 | 2 games @ Wilderness | X |
| 2 | Anchorage | 77 | 54 | 2 games vs. Fairbanks | X |
| 3 | Janesville | 68 | 54 | 2 games @ Kenai River | X |
| 4 | Chippewa | 59 | 56 | 2 games vs. Springfield | |
| 5 | Minnesota | 58 | 54 | 2 games vs. Wisconsin | |
| 6 | Fairbanks | 44 | 54 | 2 games @ Anchorage | |
| 6 | Springfield | 44 | 54 | 2 games @ Wisconsin | |
| 8 | Kenai River | 40 | 55 | 2 games vs. Kenai River |
Last Weekend:
- Wisconsin swept a 2-game home series vs. Springfield: Winning 4-3 (OT) on 3/15, and 5-1 on 3/16.
- The Wilderness lost twice at Kenai River by scores of 4-1 on 3/15 and 5-2 on 3/16.
Season series: This weekend will complete the 10-game season series vs. the Windigo. In the previous eight, each team has won four times. In the first series in Cloquet in Nov., the Wilderness won both games. In four games in Eagle River, Wisconsin won three, while the two split a series in Cloquet on March 1-2.
Tale of the tape:
| Team | GF | GA | PP | PK | PIMs |
| Wisconsin | 137 | 205 | 25.4% | 83.8% | 876 |
| Wilderness | 140 | 147 | 19.4% | 84.5% | 726 |
Source: nahl.com
Streaks Broken: Last weekend’s losses to Kenai River snapped two substantial streaks the Wilderness had against the Brown Bears. The 4-1 Kenai win broke a 13-game run where the Wilderness gained at least one point in a matchup between the two squads. Along with that, it snapped a 10-game winning streak the Wilderness had in games play in Soldotna. Kenai also swept a 2-game series against the Wilderness for the first time in franchise history.
2-goal Deficits: One nasty habit the Wilderness has fallen into is giving up the first two goals in a game. Minnesota was down 2-0 at one point in all four of its games in Alaska. Against Anchorage, the Wilderness came back to tie in each game, and even held a lead in game 2, before the Wolverines mounted their own comeback that forced overtime. Minnesota was not so fortunate vs. Kenai River as it lost both contests by three goals.
Doll First Point: Forward Ben Doll posted his first Junior A point last weekend. Doll assisted on Peteris Purmalis’ 2nd period goal on March 22, which at the time cut Kenai’s lead to 3-1. Doll, from Andover, MN, has now played in four games with the Wilderness. He joined the squad after his senior season with Andover High School concluded. Doll tied for the Huskies lead in goals (17) and was second on the team in points with 28.
Windigo Note: Forward Max Martin continues his torrid scoring pace. The 20-year old from Tawas City, MI, earned his third star of the week award for his performance last weekend vs. Springfield. Martin generated five points in the sweep of the Jr. Blues (3 goals/2 assists) that included an overtime game-winner in the Friday night contest. Martin leads the NAHL in goals (43) and points (96) and is committed to play college hockey at Bowling Green State.
New Into the Wilderness: Peteris Purmalis and Gustavs Ozolins are guests in the newest edition of Into the Wilderness. Purmalis and Ozolins have played together off and on for the last 10 years, and make up the team’s Latvian contingent. The show debuts this week on wildernesshockey.com.