Edwards Fights off Pain to Become Overtime Hero as Wilderness Advance in Playoffs
NAHL Minnesota Wilderness

Edwards Fights off Pain to Become Overtime Hero as Wilderness Advance in Playoffs

Published on April 25, 2026 under North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Minnesota Wilderness News Release


On Friday night in Anchorage, AK, Max Edwards exemplified the warrior attitude and mentality of what it takes to win in junior hockey.

In the middle of game 4 of the Midwest Division Semi-final, the rookie forward for the Minnesota Wilderness blocked a shot from an Anchorage Wolverine player that ended up striking his right ear.

"I was weak side winger, and I saw a guy in the slot was open," said Edwards after the game as he pressed a bag of ice against his face. "I went to block a shot and I took a one-timer right in the side of the face; it didn't feel great."

Despite the pain and swelling coming from that wound, Edwards carried on and he ended up as the hero the Wilderness needed to end the first round series.

Edwards scored the overtime game-winner that lifted Minnesota past the Wolverines, 3-2, to advance in the Robertson Cup playoffs with a 3-1 series win.

After receiving a pass across the goalmouth from Avery Anderson, Edwards finished off Anchorage with tap-in that sent the team into a frenzy and quieted a capacity crowd at Sullivan Arena.

"We both kinda had a 2-on-2," said Edwards of he and Anderson when they entered the offensive zone on the scoring play. "I drove far post, and he had a great pass, hit me right on the backdoor."

That tally, at 8:51 of the extra session, gives Edwards his first junior hockey playoff goal, and was also assisted by Olle Karlsson.

That red-lighter capped a back-and-forth contest which saw the Wilderness build a 2-goal lead in the second period, only to see Anchorage respond with a pair in the third including a buzzer-beater equalizer.

Anderson factored in all three Minnesota goals, scoring once and adding two assists for a 3-point night.

After a scoreless first period, Anderson gave Minnesota the contest's first lead with a power-play marker in the middle frame. With 10:14 left, Anderson notched his second post-season goal with assists going to Talan Blanck and Zachary Homer. Blanck followed with his 5th of playoffs with 35 seconds on the clock with Anderson and River Freeman gaining helpers.

But that 2-goal cushion would not be enough as Anchorage cut the lead to one beginning with a tally by Jack McKenna in the third period's 7:11 mark. That goal snapped a shutout streak for Wilderness goaltender Ryan Gerlich that spanned 175:27, going back to the third stanza of game 1.

It had appeared Anchorage had tied the game less than three minutes later. After Luc Bydal pounced on a loose puck directly in front of the Wilderness net, he whipped it past Gerlich. However, officials determined Bydal committed a kneeing penalty on Joe Luger to force him to cough up the puck, leading to the tally being waved off and Minnesota getting a power play.

Yet, Anchorage would manage to tie the game before it was all over. In the waning seconds, as they pressed with their goaltender pulled for an extra attacker, Caleb Mahar gave the sellout crowd of 6,014 one last thing to cheer for as he lit the lamp with just two-tenths of a second remaining.

But in the end, it would not matter. The Wilderness still prevailed thanks to Edwards and his gutsy effort. The Scottsdale, AZ, native says the size of the crowd, which set a record for the largest audience to watch a Wilderness game, made his overtime heroics even more special.

"Yeah, it was pretty electric," said Edwards. "It was the biggest crowd of I've ever played in front of and it was so cool just to have that moment."

Minnesota next awaits the winner of the other Midwest Division Semifinals, which features the Wisconsin Windigo vs. the Fairbanks Ice Dogs. That series is tied, 2-2, with the winner set to be decided in game 5, Saturday night in Brookfield, WI. No matter who wins, the Wilderness will host the first weekend of contests beginning May 1 at the Aspirus St. Luke's Sports and Event Center in Proctor, MN.

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North American Hockey League Stories from April 25, 2026


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