The Kenai River Brown Bears recently announced college commitments for Ryan Finch and Noah Holt.
Finch and Holt both committed to teams in Division 1 in the American Collegiate Hockey Association.
Finch will play at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virgina. Holt will play at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio.
According to the association’s website, the ACHA was founded in 1991 and is the national association for non-NCAA hockey.
With about 13,000 players, the association says its primary mission is to support the growth of college hockey “while emphasizing academic performance, personal development and opportunities for regional, national and international competition.”
Holt, who is from Ohio, arrived in a trade late in the 2021-22 season and became the captain on a team that went from the second worst record in the NAHL to the playoffs.
The 6-foot-2, 180-pound forward appeared in 16 games for the Bears in 2021-22, getting three goals and six assists.
In 2022-23, Holt played 54 games and had 10 goals and 16 assists.
Finch, who is from North Carolina, also played a big role in Kenai River’s turnaround this season.
The 5-10, 170-pound forward had 15 goals and 11 assists in 54 games for the Bears in his NAHL rookie season in 2021-22.
This season, Finch was second on the team in points despite playing just 44 games due to injury. He had 20 goals and 24 assists and averaged more points per game than the team’s leading scorer, Garett Drotts.
