Wilderness sweep Jets

The Minnesota Wilderness went 5 for 5 on the power play Saturday night, in a 6-3 victory over the Janesville Jets in a North American Hockey League battle at Northwoods Credit Union Arena in Cloquet.

William Persson picked up 2 of the team’s goals with the man-advantage, both of them scored in the 3rd period. Persson’s first goal broke a 3-3 tie with 14:47 remaining in the final frame. The Wilderness also had PPG’s from Bobby Metz and Haden Kruse in the 1st period, Matthew McQuade in the 2nd, and also an even-strength empty-net goal from Ethan Wolthers in the 3rd. Persson’s 2nd goal came with 29 seconds remaining in the 3rd.

It was a back-and-forth game, as Janesville was able to battle back to tie after being down 3-1 at one point during the 2nd period. The Jets picked up goals Robby Newton in the 1st, William Gustavsson in the 2nd and a power play goal from Jan Lasak in the 3rd that had tied the game before the Wilderness 3 unanswered to seal the win.

Minnesota had another strong goaltending performance from rookie Sam Livecchi, who picked up his 2nd victory of the weekend, stopping 25 of 28 Janesville shots. Owen Millward took the loss for the Jets, stopping 26 of 31 Wilderness shots.

This marks the 2nd time in team history the Wilderness went 5-for-5 with the man-advantage, tying a record first set on Oct. 3, 2015 vs. Kenai River.

The win moves the Wilderness into a tie for 3rd place in the NAHL’s Midwest Division with the Minnesota Magicians

The Wilderness will be on the road for the next three games. They’ll visit Chippewa on Thursday for a game set for 7:00 p.m. CDT, and then Springfield the following Friday and Saturday. The next home game is schedule for Nov. 5 vs. the Minnesota Magicians.

Janesville will be going on the road to Alaska next weekend to take on the Anchorage Wolverines.