Wilderness Seeks to Rebound at Janesville
November 9, 2023 - North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Minnesota Wilderness News Release
Who: Minnesota Wilderness vs. Janesville Jets
When: Nov. 10 and 11 7:00 p.m. CST
Where: Janesville Arena, Janesville, WI
The lead: The Minnesota Wilderness seeks to return to its winning ways this weekend in a two-game series at Janesville.
Media: All of the action can be seen on nahltv.com.
Records: Janesville: 18 games: 8-8-2, 18 points; Minnesota: 18 games: 11-5-2, 24 points
Midwest Division Standings:
Place Team Points Games Played This weekend's opponent
1 Wilderness 24 18 2 games @ Janesville
2 Wisconsin 22 19 2 games vs. Springfield
3 Kenai River 19 19 2 games vs. Chippewa
4 Anchorage 18 15 2 games vs. Fairbanks
4 Janesville 18 18 2 games vs. Minnesota
4 Fairbanks 18 19 2 games at Anchorage
7 Chippewa 16 17 2 games @ Kenai River
8 Springfield 15 19 2 games @ Wisconsin
Last weekend: Janesville was idle. It last played Oct. 26-28 when it lost two-out-of-three in a series at Fairbanks. Minnesota was shutout twice last weekend in a home/home series vs. St. Cloud. The Norsemen took the Nov. 3 game at home, 4-0, then completed the sweep Nov. 4 in Cloquet, 3-0.
Last season's series: The Wilderness won six of the eight contests it played vs. Janesville in 2022-23. Both of the Jets victories were in their home building as the season series in Janesville finished 2-2. In the all-time series, Janesville leads 27-19-6, and is 15-7-2 at Janesville Arena.
Birthday: Ren Morque 11/12 (20)
Ren Returns: The Wilderness welcomed back defenseman Ren Morque to the squad last weekend. The veteran from Grand Rapids started the season with the Sioux City Musketeers of the USHL. Morque played 41 games with Minnesota over 2021-22 and 2022-23 generating six goals and 24 assists for 30 points. When he left the Wilderness in December of 2022-23 to play for Sioux City, he led the team in points (24) and assists (20) over 31 games.
Unwelcome Achievements: Minnesota's two scoreless games last weekend marked only the 2nd time in team history that the Wilderness failed to light the lamp in a weekend series. The first time it happened was April 2-3, 2021, in Aberdeen, SD, when the Wilderness were shutout twice by the Aberdeen Wings. Meanwhile, the Wilderness' current goal drought is the longest in franchise history. Minnesota has been shutout in its last 143 minutes and 44 seconds, with its last goal scored in the 2nd period in its game vs. Chippewa on Oct. 28.
Alumni Update: Several Minnesota Wilderness alums are beginning their freshmen campaigns at NCAA Division 1 institutions this season. One scored his first goal last weekend. Arizona State forward Cole Gordon notched collegiate goal #1 when he cashed in on a short-handed breakaway 27 seconds into the Sun Devils game vs. Stonehill College on Nov. 4. Gordon spent 2022-23 as the Wilderness' co-captain and played 162 games over three seasons with Minnesota.
PK Confrontation: This weekend will mark a showdown between the Midwest Division's top two penalty-killing squads. Janesville enters Friday's game leading the division eliminating opponent power plays at the rate of 88.3%, while the Wilderness are just behind with a PK of 87.9%
Kruse Commits: Former Wilderness and current Janesville Jet Haden Kruse has announced his destination for college hockey. The forward from Nisswa, MN, this week announced he is headed to the University of Alaska-Fairbanks. Over 17 games, Kruse leads the Jets in scoring with 27 points (9 goals, 18 assists). Kruse began his junior career playing three games with the Wilderness during the 2020-21 campaign and then skated in 27 contests in 2021-22, notching 8 goals and 11 assists for 19 points. Last season, Kruse split his time playing in the USHL with the Tri-City Storm and Omaha Lancers.
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