Wilderness edge toward playoffs; new team coming

With a 1-0 overtime win April 5 in the finale of a two-game set with Springfield, the Minnesota Wilderness surged into a prospective playoff spot with two regular-season games to go.

The Wilderness got a goal from Nate Murray two minutes into overtime to secure the win at Northwoods Credit Union Arena in Cloquet. Goalie Adam Prokop, of Wausau, Wisconsin has been carrying the team of late, and completed his fourth shutout of the season.

The Wilderness (29-24-5) face the Springfield Jr. Blues (20-29-2) again to close out the regular season Friday and Saturday in Illinois.

With 63 points, Minnesota sits one point ahead of fifth-place Chippewa Steel.

Minnesota is sitting pretty with two games remaining to only one for the team from Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin.

The teams are vying for the fourth and final Midwest Division playoff berth. The Anchorage Wolverines and Wisconsin Windigo (84 points each) and Janesville Jets (71) have already secured berths in the North American Hockey League's Robertson Cup playoffs.

Murray, of Fowlerville, Michigan scored his fifth goal of the season on a one-timer from the left circle during the 3-on-3 overtime on April 5. The goal featured all three Wilderness players touching the puck, in tic-tac-toe fashion, with Ren Morque, of Grand Rapids, Minnesota and Payton Nelson, of Centennial, Colorado getting assists.

Minnesota (29-24-5) outshot the Jr. Blues, 37-21, in the must-have win.

On April 4 in Cloquet, the Wilderness fell to the Jr. Blues, 5-4, after taking leads of 3-0 and 4-1. In the game, the Wilderness burst into the scoring column with three goals in less than five minutes in the first period. By the end of the second period, Springfield had closed to 4-2, then added three more before even half of the third period was over.

Nick Erickson started the game in net for Minnesota, but was pulled in the third period after allowing four goals, ceding to Prokop, who stopped seven of eight shots.

The Steel faced a home game in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin against the Jets on Thursday in its regular season finale. Chippewa needed a win and two Minnesota losses to leapfrog the Wilderness for the playoff berth.

Wilderness expands

A second Minnesota Wilderness team is coming to northeastern Minnesota later this year. The organization was granted rights to a new junior hockey team, playing down a level, in the North American Tier III Hockey League.

The arrival of a new team comes after Wilderness owner Barry Bohman purchased the Minnesota Loons, a team playing in the NA3HL, a Wilderness news release said.

The league's board of governors approved the sale and Bohman plans to rebrand the team as the Wilderness and move it from its current home in Breezy Point, Minnesota.

The Wilderness' NAHL squad will keep its home in Cloquet. The specific location of the NA3HL squad has not yet been determined, although talks are in progress with a potential suitor.

The Wilderness NA3HL franchise will bear the same colors, logo and uniform as the Cloquet-based Wilderness team currently competing in the NAHL.

The Wilderness NA3HL team will be part of the West Division, which includes four other teams based in Minnesota, plus one in Mason City, Iowa, the news release said.

The NA3HL is in its 13th season of operation. It is the only USA Hockey-sanctioned Tier III junior league. It comprises 34 teams across 16 states in the United States.

The new Wilderness franchise will begin building its roster immediately, with the help of the NA3HL draft scheduled for April 24.

The NA3HL Wilderness embarks on its first season in September and will play a 47-game regular-season schedule.

If the squad finishes the season among the top four teams in its division, it will qualify for the NA3HL's Fraser Cup playoffs, which begin in March.

The Wilderness Tier II team has been part of the NAHL since 2013, after spending its first season in Cloquet in the Superior International Junior Hockey League. The organization also sponsors 16U and 18U AAA teams that compete in the North American Prospects Hockey League.

The Mesabi Tribune reported this week that Dave Boitz, general manager and minority partner of the Wilderness, addressed the Eveleth City Council about finding a place for a team to play.

"Our goal is to find a place for this team to play," the paper quoted Boitz as saying. He also said he's open to having the Tier II Wilderness move to Eveleth and the new team stay in Cloquet.

"We think this could be a really great market,'' he told the council, and have a big economic impact on the area, including hotels, restaurants and other businesses.

The Mesabi Tribune story continued:

The possible obstacles to such a move include how early in the fall and how late in the spring ice can remain in the Hippodrome, locker room improvements, higher-speed internet and possible dehumidification for the warmer months.

Boitz added he is open to what has to be done to get the building ready.

The Wilderness usually start up in early September and begin the playoffs in mid-April, but they could last until mid-May. The Hippodrome is more available in the winter months with the Rock Ridge high school hockey team playing the majority of its games in Virginia.

Boitz wondered if other ice time can be sold around his team's needs.

Overall, his marketing research tells him a team would do well in Eveleth and "get some real energy in that facility.''

Councilor Joe Koivunen supported the idea and said it would be a good thing all around.

The NAHL's Wilderness are "a big draw,'' according to Boitz, but it could be to their benefit to move. In Cloquet, they are competing against the University of Minnesota Duluth for sponsorships, as well as high school teams such as Hermantown and Duluth East.

"I think there's more hockey people up here actually,'' he said, plus, by playing in Eveleth his team would be more of a big fish in a little pond.