Cloquet To Get Junior Hockey Team

Contributed photo

July 25, 2012

Dwight Cadwell-NSO

Northwoods Credit Union Arena in Cloquet will be the new home to Superior International Junior Hockey League’s Wisconsin Wilderness who will now be renamed the Minnesota Wilderness and will begin play for the 2012-2013 season.

The two time defending league champion will move to Cloquet which will now be home to a junior hockey team. The Wilderness, who was located out of Spooner Wisconsin decided to look for a new home because the Spooner Arena is for sale, and if a buyer isn’t found, the arena could be shut down.

So with an uncertain future, Scott Thielen, the owner of the Wilderness directed general manager and head coach Rod Adoff to start looking for a new location for the team and a home for the future. Head Coach Adoff told Northland Sports Online that “we only looked at one location for our new home, and that was Cloquet.”

Adoff stated “With the rich tradition of hockey in Cloquet, it seemed like a natural fit.” Adoff said “We started working with Mike Acheson and the Cloquet Hockey Association and it all came together well. I played hockey with Derek Plante and Rick Mrozik, so I know the type of people that come from Cloquet. With the community support Cloquet can provide, this should be a great new home for the Wilderness.”

The Wilderness have had a lot of success as they are the two time defending SIJHL champions and will be looking to continue with the success they have had over the past few seasons. The Junior Hockey Program features hockey players 20 years old and under.

The team will play a 56 game schedule with 27 home and 27 away games along with 2 games at the Heritage Center in Duluth. The league will meet in the near future to set up the 2012-2013 schedule. The season will begin with players reporting to camp in mid-September.

Head Coach Adoff mentioned “There will be a press conference at the Cloquet arena on Monday or Tuesday to make the formal announcement of the new team, name, and new location.

Adoff also mentioned that he will be looking for host families for players coming to the area for the season. Anyone who may be interested can contact Northland Sports Online and we will direct the information to the appropriate staff members.

The Wilderness is one of seven teams in the SIJHL, along with teams from Dryden Canada, Duluth, Fort Frances, Sioux Lookout Canada, Thunder Bay Canada, and the Iron Range. The League itself plays under the direction on the Canadian Junior Hockey League which has 10 individual leagues that feature teams throughout Canada and the United States.

Dwight Cadwell can be reached at dwight@northlandsportsonline.com