A dominating 2nd period pushed the Minnesota Wilderness to a 4-3 victory Friday night over the Springfield Jr. Blues.
The Wilderness outscored the Jr. Blues 3-0 and finished with a 24-7 advantage in shots on goal over the middle frame to take command of the game with a 4-1 lead. A third period Springfield comeback attempt fell just short, allowing Minnesota to snap a 2-game winless skid.
Beau Janzig had a goal and assist and was one of four different Wilderness players to light the lamp. Loris Uberti earned the win in goal with 31 saves on 34 shots.
Janzig helped set up the first Wilderness goal. Sustained pressure in the offensive zone paid off when the veteran defenseman fed the puck to forward Adam Johnson, who was positioned in the left face off circle. Johnson then blistered the puck just under the crossbar 4:38 into the opening period for his third tally of the season.
Springfield cashed in before the first frame was over, when it connected while on a 5-minute major power play. Hadley Hudak redirected a shot from Jake Peterson with 2:14 left to play in the period.
After killing off the remainder of the long penalty in the beginning of the 2nd period, the Wilderness dialed up the intensity, and it paid off with 3 goals over the middle stanza’s final 5:41.
The surge began when forward Peteris Purmalis won a battle for the puck in the left corner in the offensive zone and banked it off the left boards to defenseman and team captain Gustavs Ozolins at the blue line. Ozolins then slide the puck across to Aiden Shirey at the right circle who quickly found the back of the net to put Minnesota back in front 2-1 with his third red-lighter of the campaign.
Twenty seconds later, another defenseman gave the Wilderness a 2-goal lead. This time, it was Janzig who rocketed in his first of the year, thanks to slick forechecking and puck control from newcomer Daniel Astapovich. Astapovich first stripped the puck away from Springfield’s Peterson while in the Jr. Blues zone, then kept possession while weaving and dangling in the right corner before he connected with Janzig in the high slot, and Janzig scored to make it 3-1.
Then for the 2nd straight game, the Wilderness scored at the very end of a period (following the game Sept. 23 when Purmalis scored at the 3rd period buzzer to tie Chippewa). This time, while on a 4-on-4, Ashton Dahms intercepted a Springfield attempt to clear its defensive zone, then proceeded to skate in and backhand a shot over sprawling Springfield netminder J.J. Cataldo to notch his second goal of the season. Video replay indicated the puck crossed the line with just a fraction of a second left to play.
Springfield made things interesting in the third when goals by Trey Jefferis and Logan Ganz made it a one-goal game, but the Wilderness held on to secure the victory. Minnesota’s penalty kill helped that effort when it helped eliminate three Springfield power plays in the final frame, including 1:17 when it was down two players.
For the game, the Wilderness penalty kill held off Springfield on four of five man-advantage opportunities. Meanwhile, the Wilderness power play was scoreless on seven chances, including about one minute of 5-on-3 in the first period.
The Wilderness ended the game with a 44-34 shot advantage.
Minnesota (2-3-2) and Springfield (0-6-1) will hold a rematch Saturday night in the final game of the 2-game series in Proctor at 7:15 p.m.