The Minnesota Wilderness meet their final 2025-26 regular season opponent this weekend in what will be their first of two consecutive road trips to Janesville, WI. Minnesota meets the Janesville Jets in a 2-game series this Friday and Saturday and will travel again to meet the Jets April 10 and 11.
It will be the first time the two squads will play since the weekend before Thanksgiving. On Nov. 21-22, Minnesota hosted Janesville in a 2-game series in Cloquet. Janesville was victorious in game 1, 5-2, while the Wilderness countered with a 3-0 win in the series finale.
The squads also split a series in Cloquet on Oct. 31 and Nov. 1.
The Jets have triumphed in their last 3 contests. They defeated the Chippewa Steel at home last weekend (March 27-28) by scores of 3-1 and 4-1. It was their first series in Janesville since they concluded a 4-game trip to Alaska with a 3-1 victory in Fairbanks.
Janesville will not qualify for the 2026 Robertson Cup playoffs, while the Wilderness have clinched the Midwest Division regular season title and will be the division’s top seed in the post-season.
Minnesota arrives after splitting their final home regular season weekend. The Wilderness fell to the Springfield Jr. Blues Friday, 5-1, before countering with a 6-1 victory in the Saturday finale.
Saturday’s win gives Minnesota 40 for the regular season, which sets a new franchise record, and 84th point, which ties the club’s single-season mark
Both contests this weekend will be played at Janesville’s brand new Mercy Health Arena, with puck drop each night set for 7:05 p.m.
Birthday: April 3 – Landon Cottingham (19)
Media: Watch all games on NAHLTV.com.
Tale of the Tape
| Team | GF | GA | PP | PK |
| Wilderness | 233 (4.24 GFPG) | 132 (2.4 GAPG) | 43 for 214 (20.1%) | 35 for 205 (82.9%) |
| Janesville | 165 (3.1 GFPG) | 169 (3.13 GAPG) | 50 for 221 (22.6%) | 37 for 200 (81.5%) |
Midwest Division standings
| Place | Team | Games Played | Points | This week’s opponent (all games Fri./Sat. unless otherwise noted) |
| 1 | xy-Wilderness | 55 | 84 | 2 @ Janesville |
| 2 | x-Wisconsin | 55 | 68 | 2 @ Fairbanks |
| 3 | x-Anchorage | 56 | 68 | Fri. @ Kenai River, Sat./Sun. vs. Kenai River |
| 4 | x-Fairbanks | 55 | 67 | Sat. vs. Wisconsin |
| 5 | Springfield | 55 | 59 | 2 vs. Chippewa |
| 6 | Janesville | 54 | 51 | 2 vs. Wilderness |
| 7 | Kenai River | 54 | 39 | Fri. vs. Anchorage, Sat./Sun. @ Anchorage |
| 8 | Chippewa | 56 | 25 | 2 @ Springfield |
x=clinched playoff spot, y=clinched division