Cloquet, Minnesota |4/27/24 | Isaac Smoldon
When Trent Powell’s clearing attempt bounced off the glass and trickled its way down the ice into the empty cage of Adam Prokop, the Anchorage Wolverines bench erupted into cheers. Powell’s second of the night assured the Wolverines that they would win both the game and the series against the Minnesota Wilderness.
Anchorage won game four of the series 6-2 to clinch the first round of the 2024 Robertson Cup Playoffs. It was an incredible bounce back performance following a 4-1 game three loss to the Wilderness on Friday night. Liam Beerman was again instrumental in the Wolverines’ win, making 27 saves in the contest.
The Wolverines got the ice breaker halfway through the 1st, with Cole Christian smacking home a backdoor pass from Kade Shea. The Wilderness responded two minutes later, with their first powerplay goal of the series, tying the game at one. Danny Bagnole potted his first of the playoffs two minutes after that, with a short-side snipe that sent Anchorage into the dressing room up a goal.
Minnesota tied the game for the second time five minutes into the 2nd period, off a broken play inside the Anchorage end. That goal would be the last scored by the Wilderness in the game. Conversely, Anchorage would bang two more past Minnesota goaltender Adam Prokop before the end of the period. The eventual game winner came from Camden Shasby, scoring his first of the playoffs off a backhand shovel on net. The second was a powerplay goal from Powell, that beat Prokop clean from the point.
In the 3rd, the Wolverines shut the door, with Tai Ushio scoring an insurance marker five minutes into the period in his first game back in the lineup. Beerman made several key saves in the 3rd, giving the Wilderness no chance of a comeback at home. Powell’s empty netter was the last tally of the night, with Anchorage winning by a final score of 6-2.
The Wolverines move on to play the Wisconsin Windigo in the second round of the playoffs, following Wisconsin’s sweep of the Janesville Jets this weekend. The first game will be at home in Anchorage with the full schedule to be released this week. Keep an eye on anchoragewolverines.com and the Wolverines’ social media for more updates.
