The Kenai River Brown Bears open up play in the Robertson Cup Playoffs today and Saturday with 4:15 p.m. AKDT games against the Minnesota Wilderness in Cloquet, Minnesota.
Kenai River is making its eighth playoff appearance in 16 North American Hockey League seasons. The Brown Bears were in the playoffs in six of their first seven seasons, then went six seasons without making the playoffs before qualifying for the Midwest Division semifinals in 2020-21 and this season.
“The guys are itching to get going tomorrow night,” Kenai River head coach Taylor Shaw said. “The outreach from the community and everybody that has been in attendance, we can certainly feel the love there as well.
“I think everybody’s looking forward to seeing what happens this weekend.”
The series is best-of-five. The series schedule is not set in stone because Kenai River wants to guarantee its fans get at least one home game.
If the Wilderness win today and Saturday, Game 3 will be April 28 at the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex. If Games 1 and 2 are split, or if the Bears win Game 1 and 2, Game 3 will be in Minnesota on Sunday at 2:15 p.m. AKDT. The series moves to Alaska after that, unless Kenai River sweeps the series. In that case, fans will have to wait until the Midwest Division finals to see a game.
Because the pandemic kept the Bears from hosting playoff games in 2021, Brown Bears fans will have the chance to see a home playoff game for the first time since 2014.
In those 2021 playoffs, Kenai River beat the Janesville (Wisconsin) Jets 3-2 in the division semifinals, then lost to the Minnesota Magicians 3-2 in just missing making the Robertson Cup final four. The series victory against Janesville is the first in franchise history.
The Brown Bears then crashed in the 2021-22 season to 14-41-3-2 record, the second worst in the league. But Shaw, who was elevated from assistant to interim coach after the team’s 3-16-0-0 start, and the Bears put in the seeds for this year’s success. Shaw was named head coach before this season.
“The guys that were back, obviously we didn’t want that,” Shaw said of another down season. “That was the motivation to have a really great offseason.”
Shaw also said the team has done a great job of worrying about what it takes to win hockey games, and not worrying about stats.
“We don’t have any 60-point guys,” Shaw said. “We have a bit of depth, and our guys have played up and down the lineup all year long.
“A big part of that is knowing their role, whether they’re on the top line, middle line or bottom line. Every guy has streaks and a role.”
Kenai River used a 12-5-1-0 spurt to clinch a playoff spot in the tight Midwest Division on April 7. Then April 14, the Bears were able to set the franchise record for wins.
The Brown Bears finished 32-24-3-1 to take the third seed out of the Midwest Division. The Wilderness were 35-18-3-4 to take the second seed.
In the other Midwest semifinal, the top-seeded Wisconsin Windigo (39-18-1-2) face No. 4 Chippewa (Wisconsin) Steel 31-25-1-3.
The Brown Bears and Wilderness played five times this season, with the Wilderness winning three in regulation and one in a shootout. Kenai River was able to win a game in a shootout.
Not counting the two goals awarded for shootout victories, Minnesota outscored Kenai River 13-6.
The Wilderness have made their mark this season on defense. Minnesota scored two fewer goals than Kenai River in the regular season and only two of the division’s eight teams had less goals than the Wilderness.
On defense, though, Minnesota was the top team in the division, allowing 146 goals to Kenai River’s 185. Two teams in the division allowed more goals than Kenai River.
Minnesota goalie Isak Posch played in all five games against Kenai River. Posch, committed to Division I St. Cloud State University, is sixth in the league with a 2.12 goals-against average. He has been Midwest Division Star of the Week twice.
The Bears counter with a pair of Division I goalies in Nils Wallstrom, committed to American International College, and Bryant Marks, committed to University of Alaska Anchorage.
“They’re well coached,” Shaw said of the Wilderness. “They have good goaltending in Posch in the back end.”
Shaw said his team can’t get too concerned with the Wilderness.
“We have to be able to execute our details,” Shaw said. “If we’re able to do that, we’re going to be able to put ourselves in a spot to have success.”
While Marks was recovering from injury, the Bears rode Wallstrom’s strong play to the playoffs. He was Midwest Division Star of the Week three times and his save percentage of .919 is tied for ninth in the league. At .926, Posch is tied for third in the league.
Kevin Marx Noren has 60 points for the Wilderness this season, with the next closest player for Minnesota at 38. Marx Noren, who played 30 games for the Brown Bears last season, is tied for the league lead in goals with 34.
“He’s got a pro shot,” Shaw said of Marx Noren. “He gets a lot of his points on the power play. Our guys are very familiar with him, obviously.”
Garett Drotts, committed to Division I Augustana University, leads the Bears with 53 points, while Ryan Finch has 44 and Bryce Monrean, committed to University of Alaska Fairbanks, has 42.
Drotts is tied for 11th in the league with 27 goals.
“We have to be able to get scoring from all around,” Shaw said. “Hopefully, it makes it a little more difficult on the Wilderness because they can’t key on anybody.”
