The North American Hockey League Board of Governors voted unanimously Tuesday afternoon to reactivate the Kenai River Brown Bears for the 2017-18 season. The Brown Bears, due to financial difficulties, had gone inactive for the upcoming season Feb. 26. But a group of ardent fans, led by Steve Stuber, stepped forward to raise $300,000 between March 22 and Saturday. Once the group met its fundraising goal, the team announced Monday that it would request reactivation. “It’s a testament to the hard work that Steve and others have put in and the desire of our community to keep the organization,” said Nate Kiel, who has been involved with the team for all 10 of its seasons and general manager for the last nine. “It’s a testament to the value of the organization to the community and all that it does. “It really confirms what I’ve known all these years. It’s nice to see the community step up like this and the Board of Governors reacted to that.” Stuber said that he merely served as the messenger and the community responded to that message. While giving special thanks to Alaska Airlines, Fred Braun, the Scotty Gomez Foundation and the Fairbanks Ice Dogs for stepping forward with important donations, he said he in no way wanted to undervalue how much every donation counted. “This really is about community,” Stuber said. “This is about the lady that wrote that check for two season tickets even though she makes such little money.” After his long-term involvement with the club, Kiel said he appreciates how hard it is to raise $300,000 in 25 days. “I would have been skeptical for sure that they could achieve those goals in such a short period of time,” said Kiel, who in 2013 retired after 26 years of teaching in the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District. “That being said, and living here on the peninsula my whole life, I’m not surprised what the community can do when it puts its mind to it.” Gwen Johnson echoed those comments about the community. Johnson has been the billet coordinator for all 10 seasons, though she will step down next season. She said that the Brown Bears program stands out in the league for the players having an amazing experience both in their billet homes and volunteering in the community. The dizzying fundraising effort to save the Bears was just more of the same. “It shows why the peninsula is a very special place,” Johnson said. “The generosity of this community continuously blows me away, not just in hockey but in many good causes. “Good gravy. That just doesn’t happen in a lot of communities.” Lisa Zulkanycz, who has been billeting players since the Bears’ second season and had a son, Zack, play for the Bears for three years, said she was more than thrilled when she learned the team would officially be back. Zulkanycz said she got the feeling shortly after the Bears announced deactivation that the team wasn’t done yet. “At first, my heart really hurt,” Zulkanycz said. “Then, after less than a week, I really started thinking we can do this. People in this community didn’t know what next winter would be like if we didn’t have a hockey team.” For Zulkanycz, a lot of the value of the Bears boiled down to one image. “The little guys that stand there with their hands out as the players come out of the tunnel,” she said. “So many moms said, ‘Will they be here next year?’ “That’s their goal. Someday those kids want to be a Brown Bear. That keeps us alive. Zack wanted to be a Brown Bear one day.” Amidst all the celebration, there also was recognition that difficulties still remain. “Now the work begins, that’s for sure,” Kiel said. Kiel was quick to defend what the team has done in the past 10 seasons, which makes the organization the third-oldest team in the NAHL. The team has survived the end of the West Division and the dramatic increase in travel costs that meant, sent over 50 players to the collegiate ranks and spent a ton of time volunteering in the community. Yet the club has had its struggles on the ice, failing to reach 20 wins in six of its 10 seasons and never winning a playoff series. The Bears had the second-worst record in the league this season, and had the worst record in the league the two seasons before that. Kiel said part of the rebirth of the team is setting goals to be more competitive on the ice, such as reaching the playoffs and winning the season-series battle for the Ravn Cup with the Fairbanks Ice Dogs. Kenai River has not been in the playoffs since the 2013-14 season and has never won the Ravn Cup. The general manager announced that the Brown Bears have fired head coach Jeff Worlton, who was 14-66-6 in a season and a half with the club. In January 2016, Worlton took over a club that had won seven times in its last 69 games. … Continue reading
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