The Kenai River Brown Bears split with the host Janesville (Wisconsin) Jets on Friday and Saturday in North American Hockey League play.
The Brown Bears notched a 6-1 victory on Friday before falling 6-3 on Saturday.
Kenai River and Janesville are now tied for first place in the Midwest Division with 15 points each. Kenai River is 9-6-0-0, while Janesville is 8-5-2-0.
Friday, Eagle River’s Brandon Lajoie had a pair of goals and an assist as the Bears cruised past the Jets. Brandon McNamara had three assists, while Anchorage’s Max Helgeson had a pair of assists.
“Lajoie was good for us last year, and he’s even better this year,” Kenai River head coach Kevin Murdock said. “The crazy thing is he has a whole other year left. He’s been slowly and steadily getting better every step of the way.”
The Bears actually acquired McNamara from the Jets for this season. Murdock said that after battling injuries the last couple of weeks, McNamara is playing well against his former team.
Daymin Dodge and Lucas Wahlin struck for the Bears in the first period. Peter Morgan made it 3-0 7:10 into the second period.
Janesville found the net for the only time of the game just 28 seconds after Morgan’s strike, but just over a minute later Lajoie struck for a 4-1 lead. Wasilla’s Porter Schachle put the Bears up 5-1 heading into the third period.
Lajoie had the lone goal of the final frame.
Schachle also announced Friday that he had committed to Division I Vermont. Schachle had committed to UAA, but he decommitted when the school announced its intention to end the program. There is an ongoing effort to save the program.
“He’s pretty excited about it,” Murdock said of the Vermont commitment. “It’s a really good opportunity for him to have.”
Murdock said Vermont has a new staff. That new staff wants to bring in new players.
The Bears coach said this is a great opportunity in the era of COVID, when transfer rules and the NCAA granting winter sports an extra year of eligibility has made Division I slots hard to find.
“I’ve talked to teams that could have nine seniors back next year, and they’d like to bring them all back,” Murdock said.
Luke Pavicich made 34 saves to record the win for Kenai River. Riley Sims allowed four goals on 18 shots for the Jets, before Owen Millward allowed a pair of goals on 17 shots. Pavicich is now 8-2-0-0.
“He’s been really, really good,” Murdock said of the goalie. “We’ve only won one game without him, and he has only two losses.”
Saturday, Murdock said the Bears played well in spurts, but were slowed down by penalties.
McNamara got the Bears off to a 1-0 lead, but eight penalty minutes in the first period slowed down the Bears and Janesville closed the opening frame up 2-1.
Murdock said his squad didn’t play well in the second and fell behind 4-1 before Cole Dubicki cut it to 4-2 headed to the third.
Morgan scored 6:13 into the third for a 4-3 game, but Murdock said the Bears comeback attempt was again slowed by penalties.
Millward had 25 saves for the Jets, while Andrew Rose stopped 41 for the Bears.
“Rose played well, but we gave up way too many shots,” Murdock said.
The Bears stay in Janesville today for a noon game.
Friday
Brown Bears 6, Jets 1
Kenai River 2 3 1 —6
Janesville 0 1 0 —1
First period — 1. Kenai River, Dodge (Lajoie, Hill), sh, 11:10; 2. Kenai River, Wahlin (Helgeson, Szubert), 14:32. Penalties — Kenai River 1 for 2:00; Janesville 1 for 2:00.
Second period — 3. Kenai River, Morgan (Helgeson, Winters), 7:10; 4. Janesville, Destefani (Schoen, Ezman), 7:38; 5. Kenai River, Lajoie (McNamara, Tomlinson), 8:46; 6. Kenai River, Schachle (Green, McNamara), 17:42. Penalties — Kenai River 1 for 2:00.
Third period — 7. Kenai River, Lajoie (McNamara, Dubicki), 9:52. Penalties — Kenai River 1 for 2:00; Janesville 2 for 4:00.
Shots on goal — Kenai River 11-14-10—35; Janesville 12-15-8—35.
Goalies — Kenai River, Pavicich (35 shots, 34 saves); Janesville, Sims (18 shots, 14 saves), Millward (17 shots, 15 saves).
Power plays — Kenai River 0 for 1; Janesville 0 for 2.
Saturday
Jets 6, Brown Bears 3
Kenai River 1 1 1 —3
Janesville2 2 2 —6
First period — 1. Kenai River, McNamara (Pfister, Dodge), 5:14; 2. Janesville, Leyer (Middleton, Aegerter), 12:11; 3. Janesville, Hottmann (Itagaki), 17:46. Penalties — Kenai River 4 for 8:00; Janesville 2 for 4:00.
Second period — 4. Janesville, Schoen (Middleton, Thompson), 5:12; 5. Janesville, Sacratini (Leyer, Ott), 6:48; 6. Kenai River, Dubicki (Lajoie, McNamara), 11:49. Penalties — Kenai River 1 for 2:00; Janesville 2 for 4:00.
Third period — 7. Kenai River, Morgan (Helgeson, Hadfield), 6:13; 8. Janesville, Kring (Middleton), pp, 18:47; 9. Janesville, Itagaki (Ezman, Engelkes), en, 19:15.
Shots on goal — Kenai River 8-6-14—28; Janesville 13-11-23—47.
Goalies — Kenai River, Rose (46 shots, 41 saves); Janesville, Millward (28 shots, 25 saves).
Power plays — Kenai River 0 for 3; Janesville 2 for 5.
