Wisconsin Windigo Update October 17
October 17, 2022 – North American Hockey League (NAHL) – Wisconsin Windigo News Release
Ben Anderson (#24) and Wisconsin Windigo teammate Cam Boche (#9) head up ice
(Wisconsin Windigo, Credit: Cathy Iverson)
The Wisconsin Windigo hosted in-state rival Janesville Jets at the Dome in Eagle River, WI, on
October 14 and 15. The Jets brought a record of 6 wins, 2 regulation losses, 2 overtime losses and 1
shootout loss into the weekend set against the Windigo. The two teams also split a pair of preseason
games held in Janesville on September 2 and 3.
Friday, October 14: Janesville Jets 1
at
Wisconsin Windigo 3
–
After a closely contested
scoreless first period in which the Jets outshot the Windigo by a slim margin of 11 to 9, the Windigo
broke the ice six minutes into the second period on a goal by newcomer Logan Nickolaus. The goal
came off a pass from below the goal line from Tyler Grahme. Crossing uncontested low in the slot,
Nickolaus took the pass and faked a forehand shot before deking the goalie and burying his first
North American Hockey League goal with a backhander
to the far side. “Mahony and Grahme did a
great job cycling along the end boards to set up Nickolaus. Logan made a great move to get their
goalie to bite and finish the play off his backhand. I like the energy that line showed all night,”
commented Windigo head coach Blake Hietala after the game. The Jets tied the game less than two
minutes later. The Windigo regained the lead 16:50 into the second when Ben Anderson buried his
own rebound from the top of the crease for his
first goal of the season. Anderson’s goal came off a
centering pass from Cam Boche. Drew Fisher had the second assist on the goal. Just 20 seconds
into the third period, defenseman Cashen Naeve put the Windigo up 3 to 1 on his second goal of the
season. Again, the Windigo applying pressure below the Jet’s goal line resulted in the scoring
opportunity as Sam Jacobs found his teammate dropping into the low slot. The second assist went to
Chris Kernan. Windigo goalie Max Beckford saved 28 of the 29 shots he faced for his third win of the
season. “Max played the type of game we expect from him. After a nagging injury, he’s starting to
find his game,” continued coach Hietala.
Saturday, October 15: Janesville Jets 2 at Wisconsin Windigo 0
– After an evenly matched first
10 minutes of play, the Jets struck first to gain the lead. The Jets went up by 2 at 4:04 of the second
period as Jimmy Doyle scored his seventh goal of the season. From that point forward the Windigo
carried the play and applied consistent pressure on Jets goalie Selby Warren. The Windigo outshot
the Jets 13 to 7 in the second period and 16 to 3 in the third. “After Friday’s game, I thought we were
about to break out and start scoring in bunches. Tonight, we took a step backward in that regard.
This was the sixth game of the season in which we out-played and out-chanced our opponents but
had difficulty scoring. We have a talented team, and I am confident our guys will start finding the
back of the net,” stated coach Hietala after the loss. Warren turned back all 33 shots he faced to
record the shut out. Windigo goalie Max Beckford saved 16 of the 18 shots he faced in the contest.
Up Next: October 21 and 22
– Away Games vs Kenai River Brown Bears
– The Windigo
commence an eight-game road trip next week with a long trip to Soldotna on the Kenai Peninsula of
Alaska, to face the Kenai River Brown Bears. They will stay in Alaska the following weekend for a
three-game set against the Anchorage Wolverines. Receiving no mercy from the schedulers, the
Windigo will then return to the lower 48 states for away games against the Chippewa Steel on
November 4 and 5. The Windigo finish their longest road stint of the season in Janesville, WI, against
the Jets on November 11 and 12.
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