When the weekend began, the last thing the Minnesota Wilderness wanted was to having to have a long drive back from Wisconsin knowing their season was over.
The Wilderness after hanging on Friday night for a one goal 5-4 win the Wilderness left no doubt Saturday as they crushed the Chill 9-1 to even the series and make it a one game showdown to see who will face Fairbanks in the division finals.
The Wilderness (41-17-6, 2-2) were relentless as they piled onto their lead, scoring five goals in the final period to send the series back to the Northwoods Credit Union Arena Monday.
The road team has won every game this series, but during the regular season, the Wilderness finished with one of the best home records in the NAHL.
The Wilderness also controlled the game from a physical standpoint, which made it even more difficult for the Chill to create many opportunities offensively.
Dan Litchke, who scored twice Friday, buried a shot off a perfect centering feed from Billy Exell 17 seconds into the second period to give Wilderness goalie Brock Kautz a little insurance.
Litchke scored again in the third period to stretch Minnesota’s lead to 6-0.
Michael Covach also had two goals for the Wilderness, while Aaron Miller scored two goals and added three assists.
Ian Mansfield, Wayland Williams, Janis Jaks, and Darian Romanko also scored in the Wilderness victory.
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