Solid Goaltending Keeps Minnesota Wilderness On Top

THUNDER BAY – Sports – Solid goaltending is keeping the Minnesota Wilderness on top. A team with a good goaltender has an opportunity to win every night and a club with two solid netminders to choose from really has to like their chances when taking to the ice. The Superior International Junior Hockey League’s Minnesota Wilderness boasts such a luxury in two No. 1 puck stoppers and their record shows it.

Currently the two-time defending SIJHL champion Wilderness boasts the best record in the SIJHL at 33-3-0-1, which is largely due in part to the solid goaltending tandem of Gordie Defiel and JoJo Jeanetta.

Entering play this week the 19-year-old Defiel, who hails from Stillwater, Minn., sports a record of 18-1-0-1 with a stingy 1.47 goals-against average and solid .941 save percentage.

As for the Jeanetta, the 20-year-old native of Duluth, Minn., has been equally as solid registering a 15-2-0-0 record along with a 1.61 average and a league-best .942 save mark.

“Our goaltending has been tremendous,” stated Wilderness general manager and head coach Rod Aldoff.

“Both Gordie and JoJo push themselves and each other every day and we are very fortunate to have two goalies we can go to every night,” offered Aldoff, who has guided his squad to a 122-15-9-3 record in two and half seasons in the SIJHL.

While Defiel and Jeanetta sit one-two in both average and save percentage they also lead the entire Canadian Junior Hockey League in each respective category as well, among those netminders who have seen at least 900 minutes of game action so far this season.

It is those numbers that helps see the Wilderness currently rated No. 2 overall in the latest CJHL Top 20 rankings, which are compiled each week in conjunction with NHL Central Scouting.

“They’re both No. 1 goalies who will be depended upon to be the backbone of our march toward a championship,” added Aldoff.

Each of the previous three goalkeepers to suit up for the Wilderness the last two seasons were pivotal in helping back stop the club to back-to-back SIJHL titles.

That trio of netminders have all moved on to play NCAA hockey as John McLean, Jake Hebda and Tanner Milliron are on the rosters of Gustavus Aldophus (MIAC), Concordia (Wisconsin) (MCHA) and Wisconsin-River Falls (NCHA) respectively.

Both McLean and Milliron went on to capture SIJHL top goaltender laurels joining the likes of former award recipients Carter Hutton (Rockford, AHL), Ryan Faragher (St. Cloud State, WCHA) and Drew Strandberg (Wisconsin-Superior, NCHA) to garner those same accolades.

The following is the list of the top 25 goals-against average leaders along with their respective team and leagues they are with and their 2012-13 overall statistics: