ABERDEEN, SD (AberdeenWings.com) – After the Wings took 3 of 4 points on their weekend road trip to Minot, the team came back to Aberdeen to take on the St. Cloud Norsemen and ended up splitting the weekend, now sitting just two points behind the last playoff spot.
Friday March 7th (Odde Ice Center: Aberdeen, SD) St. Cloud would be the first ones to get on the board in the first period. But, it wouldn’t be until the 9:40 mark in the first period. This goal would be scored by Niksa Juric. To end the period, the Wings would be able to try and even the score on the Power Play, but would be unsuccessful. The score would be 1-0 with St. Cloud in the lead heading into the second period.
The second period would be a heavy back-and-forth battle between the two teams. Both would have plenty of good scoring chances, and would each get a Power Play chance, but both would not be able to score on them. Finally, at the 18:42 mark, Jack McDonough would be able to get the Wings on the board, getting assists from Grant Winkler and Willum Braun. This would even the score 1-1 heading into the final period of the night.
The last period would seem to be all Norsemen. The period would start out with the Wings getting a Power Play chance, but would come up short. At the 4:43 mark, Alex Sandhu would score, breaking the tie. After, Zak Wentworth would score for the Norsemen extending their lead, and just 30 seconds later, Mason LeBel would score, extending it even further. Tensions would seem to boil over after that as players would take multiple roughing penalties on both sides. But, it would set up a Power Play opportunity for St. Cloud. Then, Tyler Wishart would score at the 11:29 mark taking the Norsemen lead even further. After, the Wings would have a couple scoring chances, but again would come up short. But before the period would end, Sam Kartch would find the back of the net, making the score 6-1 with St. Cloud taking the win on night one.
Willum Braun was in net for the Wings, stopping 25 of 31 shots – even getting an assist on the night.
Three stars for the night were Cade Moxham, Grant Winkler (1 assist), and Jack McDonough (1 goal).
Saturday, March 7th (Odde Ice Center: Aberdeen, SD) Saturday night would be a bit of a turnaround for the Wings. Just 52 seconds into the first period, Grant Winkler would score from the blue line, getting assists from Leonid Bulgakov and Owen Pitters. Shortly after, Jack McDonough would score with assists coming from Luke Backel and Owen Pitters. There would be a late penalty from the Wings in the period, but no more scoring would happen, leaving the score 2-0 with the Wings in the lead.
The Wings would unfortunately take a spearing penalty early in the second season, and would be down a player for the rest of the game. They would be able to kill off the penalty, however. But, at the 9:14 mark, Tyler Wishart would score. However, the Wings would still remain in the lead with a score of 2-1 heading into the third period.
In the third, Jibber Kuhl would score to extend the Wings lead with an assist coming from Sebastian Lillsund. Again in the third, tensions would boil over, and roughing penalties would be handed out to players on both sides. After, Tyler Wishart would score for the Norsemen again. As the clock was ticking down in the third, St. Cloud would pull their goaltender, but the Wings would be able to capitalize on this chance and score on the empty net. This goal would be scored by Bryce Johnson, with assists coming from Gavin Reed and Nick Comfort. The Wings would win this game with a score of 4-2.
Damon Cunningham was in net for the Wings in his return to Aberdeen saving 22 of 24 shots.
The three starts for Saturday night were Damon Cunningham, Grant Winkler (1 goal), and Jibber Kuhl (Game Winning Goal).
The Wings now look ahead to traveling to Austin Minnesota next weekend to take on the Austin Bruins. After, there will be a Monday game in Watertown to take on the Shamrocks.
The post A Weekend Split For the Wings At The Odde appeared first on Hub City Radio.