Janesville, Wisconsin | 9/23/23 | Jacqueline Hixssen & Isaac Smolden
The Anchorage Wolverines dropped their series against the Janesville Jets in the opening weekend of Midwest division play, following a 5-4 overtime loss on Saturday night. The loss gives Anchorage a 3-2-2 record and a two-game losing streak as they prepare to head home for the first time this season.
The 1st period would be a scoreless affair, but both teams would trade goals early in the 2nd in part thanks to an unassisted goal from Fedya Nikalayenya. Nikalayenya was playing for the first time since the NAHL showcase after missing last night’s game due to sickness.
The Wolverines continued to battle Janesville through the rest of the period. Just a minute following Jets’ Merrill Steenari’s second goal of the season, Oliver Salo and Colten Gerken drove the puck up the ice to Wilson Dahlheimer who sniped a power-play goal that tied the game at two. Despite the response, Janesville entered the final period of regulation 3-2 off of Jake Merens’s fourth of the year.
7:50 into the 3rd, the Jets jumped out to a two-goal lead over the Wolverines thanks to Haden Kruse’s fourth of the year. Jackson Stimple sparked Anchorage’s comeback two minutes later with his first NAHL goal, assisted by Dahlheimer and Cole Christian. Tyler Hennen, Kade Shea and Michael Marquez surrounded the net in the 14th minute of the 3rd, with Marquez knotting the game back up to take the game to OT.
The Wolverines and Janesville played two minutes of the three-man overtime before Rhett Kodsi of the Jets ended the game and won the game for his squad by a final score of 5-4. The next game for the Anchorage Wolverines will be the home opener on October 6th against the Kenai River Brown Bears, where they will face off at The Ben for the first time this season. To purchase tickets, visit anchoragewolverines.com. The broadcast of the game can be watched live or on-demand exclusively at nahltv.com.
