The historic dome in Eagle River was the site of the opening two games of the North American Hockey League Division semifinal between the top-seeded Wisconsin Windigo and No. 4-seeded Chippewa Steel.
Wisconsin put on a scoring clinic in Friday’s opener with a 7-3 win before Chippewa avenged the loss with a 2-0 win Saturday night to even the series.
“We came out strong on Friday, hungry to get things rolling the playoffs. I liked our intensity and determination to finish plays. Our forecheck was strong, resulting in scoring chances and goals,” said Windigo head coach John Mitchell.
“It is difficult to say that I was disappointed with our effort on Saturday. We outshot them 34 to 18 and quality scoring chances were even more in our favor. We hit four goal posts, and ran into a hot goaltender. Hockey is an imperfect game.”
The Windigo got out to a fiery start Friday night and showed why they were the best team in the division all year. From the moment Wisconsin stepped onto the ice, it controlled the puck and pace of play. Zach Cline was one of the stars of the night, with four points in total, tallying two goals and two assists.
He threw the first punch and scored at 4:51 of the opening period before Braydon Beahm lit the lamp just a minute and three seconds later to extend the lead to two.
With just nine shots on net in the first, the Windigo got its third of the period from Ronnie Hill at roughly the midway point.
Chippewa caught Wisconsin late to get the deficit down to 3-1 as the game entered the second period.
Michael Ryan didn’t waste much time as he netted his seventh goal of the year to go ahead 4-1.
Cline got his second of the night after Wisconsin gained possession of the puck on the forecheck and Cline flung one past Chippewa’s netminder.
Another late-period tally by the Steel with less than a minute left put the game at 5-2 after two.
Wyatt Herres joined the scoring party first in the third, making it a four-goal lead about five minutes into the final period.
Chippewa answered right away, but it wasn’t nearly enough to catch up as the Windigo dominated the shots 34-17.
Lucas Szyszka got his 30th win in the net by making 14 saves.
After being able to get past Devin Shakar seven times Friday night, it seemed like the netminder became a brick wall in game two. Wisconsin fired 34 shots in his direction, and he swallowed up all 34.
The game remained 0-0 for much of the first period as the Windigo led a pretty even period 10-8 in the shot department. Chippewa grabbed the first goal of the game at the 18-minute mark of the first. There were no goals for the remainder of the game before Windigo pulled Szyszka late in the game for an extra attacker as the game stood at 1-0. Wisconsin had plenty of opportunity to tie the game up as it led the shots 15-3 in the second and 9-6 in the third.
The series continues as the Windigo hits the road for games three and four this Friday and Saturday evening, with the series knotted at 1-1. Both games are set for 7 p.m. at Rice Lake Ice Arena. A game five will be played in Eagle River, if needed, on Monday, April 28, at 7 p.m.
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