CLOQUET — The Minnesota Wilderness struck first in their best-of-five North American Hockey League Robertson Cup playoff series, as Reid Daavettila's second-period power play goal broke a 1-1 tie and sent the hosts to a 3-1 win over Kenai River on Friday, April 21 at Northwoods Credit Union Arena.
The Brown Bears scored first, at 16:16 of the first period, but the Wilderness didn't trail for long, with Gunnar Thoreson evening the game just 25 seconds later.
The game remained tied into the second period and past the halfway point before Daavettila scored on the power play at 12:09. The Wilderness nursed the one-goal lead until a late empty-netter from Kevin Marx Noren wrapped up the win.
The Wilderness prevailed despite generating 10 shots on goal over the last 40 minutes. They didn't give up many, either, allowing less than 10 in each of the three periods. Daavettila had a goal and assist for Minnesota, while Bo Cosman notched a pair of assists.
Isak Posch made 22 saves for Minnesota.
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The Wilderness will try to expand on their 1-0 lead in the series on Saturday in Cloquet. If the Wilderness win Game 2, the series will shift to Alaska next weekend to ensure Kenai River gets at least one home game. If Kenai River wins, the teams will play Game 3 in Cloquet on Sunday.
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