Wilderness begins Robertson Cup title defense

Last weekend, a few teams got an early start in North American Hockey League play. This weekend, a larger group will get their respective 2015-16 seasons under way, including the defending Robertson Cup Champion Minnesota Wilderness.

The Wilderness will open on home ice with a Friday/Saturday (Sept. 18-19) doubleheader against the always tough Fairbanks Ice Dogs, a team they faced in playoffs last spring

The Ice Dogs were one of the teams that started early, taking two from the Kenai River Brown Bears in an all-Alaska tussle.

Last season’s regular seas champs, the Janesville Jets, who set a record with its 49-9-2 record will also open on home ice, playing the other Alaska entry, the Brown  Bears in Friday/Saturday matches.

Other Midwest two-game encounters will see Robertson Cup finalists, the Austin Bruins making the trip to Bismarck to face the host Bobcats and the Minot Minotauros will venture to Brookings to play the Blizzard in a pair. Also, the Topeka Roadrunners, the only Midwest-based team to open the previous weekend will stay on home ice to play the Corpus Christi Ice Rays in what will actually be a Friday/Sunday set.

Other non-Midwest based teams will also be in action as all four of the new East Coast entries get underway on Friday and Saturday and all-Texas game between Lone Star Brahmas and Amarillo Bulls on Saturday.

This will be a warm up for these teams as the entire league will be in action in the annual Schwan Super Rinks Showcase at Blaine, MN beginning on Wednesday (Sept. 23) to Saturday (Sept. 26).