A hometown newspaper with a local office, local owners & lots of local news
A hometown newspaper with a local office, local owners & lots of local news
Relying on a red-hot scorer, the Minnesota Wilderness made team history last weekend, sweeping a three-game series at home for the first time.
Playing inside Northwoods Credit Union Arena, the Wilderness topped Anchorage Wolverines, 4-3, 2-1, and 3-2 from Sept. 30 to Oct. 2, respectively. Kevin Marx Noreen scored his second hat trick of the season in Sunday’s game, giving him six goals in seven games since being traded to the team.
Joe Cesario scored his second overtime game-winner in as many games Friday.
The Wilderness typically play two-game sets, but given Anchorage’s travel challenges, the games are more bunched when it visits the lower 48 states.
As the early portion of the season unfolds, the Wilderness (5-3-1) are in sole possession of fourth place in the Midwest Division of the North American Hockey League. Janesville (Wisconsin) and Fairbanks (Alaska) are tied for first with 14 points.
The Wilderness will remain home for their series this weekend. The last-place Wisconsin Windigo (4 points) will make their first visit to Cloquet with games Friday and Saturday, Oct. 7-8, both set for 7:15 p.m.
In other Wilderness news, the team announced last week the hiring of Clay Wilson to head coach Brett Skinner’s staff. An offensive-minded defenseman, Wilson recently completed a 15-year professional career that included 36 games in the NHL.
A Michigan Tech product, Wilson grew up locally and played at Moose Lake/Willow River, before two seasons with Cloquet-
Esko-Carlton.
“I had been wanting to get into coaching and get my foot in the door, and waiting for the right opportunity,” Wilson said in a team news release.
He’d previously played alongside Skinner during their careers. Skinner called it a “no-brainer” to bring on Wilson, who will be working with defensemen and joins Kyle Brodie as assistants on the staff.
“Playing with Clay on two different stops during our pro careers, I know firsthand how passionate he is about the game as well as the type of person and character he has,” Skinner said.
