Wilderness get a sweep

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

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 second period. Then came three unanswered by the Wilderness.

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

The win moves the Wilderness into a tie for third 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 and Springfield. The next home game is Nov. 5.