Wilderness lose in opener

The Anchorage Wolverines scored in all phases of the game and received some solid goaltending in a 5-1 win over the Minnesota Wilderness Saturday night. It was the home opener for the Wilderness, played at the arena in Proctor while the arena in Cloquet undergoes repairs.

Duluth native Cole Christian led Anchorage with three points, posting one goal and two assists, while rookie goaltender Jozef Zilinec held off the Wilderness on 31 of 32 shots to earn a victory in his first Junior A game.

Oliver Stümpel scored the lone Wilderness goal. Starting netminder Loris Uberti took the loss, allowing four goals on 20 shots over 50:38. The native of Martigney, Switzerland, was pulled after the Wolverines made it 4-0 and backup Tommy O’Donnell finished the game, stopping two of three shots over the game’s final 9 minutes.

Minnesota was scoreless on seven power play opportunities while Anchorage got one power play goal on five opportunities. The Wilderness outshot the Wolverines, 32-23.

Minnesota was set to compete in the NAHL Showcase in Blaine, where all NAHL teams will play four games over four days beginning Wednesday and running through this weekend. The Wilderness were scheduled to play the New Jersey Titans, Amarillo Wranglers, Maryland Black Bears and Aberdeen Wings.