TAMPERE, Finland — Cal Clutterbuck couldn’t remember exactly when he last recorded a hat trick.
“Probably my last year of juniors,” he said.
Clutterbuck, 22, netted three goals Monday night as the Wild broke loose after a turnover-filled second period and dumped the Ilves Lynx 5-1 in their final exhibition game.
Playing on a line with Matt Cullen and Casey Wellman, Clutterbuck called it “a pretty fun game to play for us.”
The Wild were 0-4-2 during the preseason coming in, so they needed something positive to carry them into the NHL season that begins in two days.
“Didn’t like the way we played in the second,” coach Todd Richards said.
The score was 1-1, and the Wild players did some talking among themselves during the second intermission.
“After the second period we said, ‘Let’s get pucks in,’ ” Clutterbuck said, noting that Ilves played sound hockey until Minnesota “took over in the third.”
The game was played at Finland’s oldest indoor ice arena, the Havametsa, which was built in 1965 for the world hockey championships because funding could not be found in Helsinki. It’s a sharp, clean building with 7,500 seats. The offensive zones were cramped; the blue lines are several feet closer to the goals than they are in the NHL.
“Odd dimensions,” Clutterbuck said. “It took a little bit to get used to it.”
Clutterbuck said the players are still adjusting to the eight-hour time difference from Minnesota.
“The sleeping patterns are still kind of askew, getting up at 3 or 4 in the morning a lot, being up for two hours and going back to bed,” he said. “My sleeping patterns are a little different, but my energy level is good.”
Briefly: Missing the exhibition game Monday night were forwards Guillaume Latendresse and Martin Havlat with sore legs. Both are expected to be available when the Wild open the regular season Thursday night in Helsinki.
