The Wisconsin Windigo defeated the Kenai River Brown Bears 5-0 on Saturday in North American Hockey League play at the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex.
Friday, the Bears had snapped a five-game losing streak with a 6-4 victory over the Windigo. Saturday, the Windigo were able to snap a four-game skid.
The Bears fall to 6-7-1-0 and are in sixth place with 13 points in the Midwest Division, while the Windigo are 7-6-1-0 and in fourth place with 15 points.
The Minnesota Wilderness lead the division with 20 points, while Chippewa (Wisconsin) Steel and Janesville (Wisconsin) Jets have 16. The Anchorage Wolverines have 14 in fifth, while the Fairbanks Ice Dogs have 12 in seventh and the Springfield (Illinois) Jr. Blues have eight in eighth.
Kenai River head coach Taylor Shaw said his team got off to a good start Saturday.
“We were all over them the first 10 minutes and had the jump,” Shaw said. “We were finally off to a good start at home, which we hadn’t had.”
Shaw said the team did not play well for the final 50 minutes.
“We just went flat,” Shaw said.
With 3:45 left in the first period, Adam Timm put the Windigo up 1-0.
By the end of the second period, the Windigo were up 4-0 thanks to goals from Maxwell Martin, Will Schumacher and Tyler Grahme.
Schumacher scored again in the third period.
Linards Lipskis had the 22-save shutout for Wisconsin. For the Bears, Conor Sullivan made 31 saves.
“Sully kept that game from turning a lot worse,” Shaw said.
The Bears now host the Jr. Blues on Thursday through Saturday, with each game at 7:30 p.m.
Kenai River owns a pair of victories over the Jr. Blues, but Springfield has won four straight.
“It goes back to the division is so tough,” Shaw said. “Anybody can win on any given night.
“Our guys need to mature in that fact and bring it every single day. I don’t think we’re there yet.”
