The Kenai River Brown Bears showcased solid goaltending and an explosive offense in topping the host Janesville (Wisconsin) Jets 5-1 on Sunday in North American Hockey League play.
The Brown Bears, at 10-6-0-0, now have 20 points to top the Midwest Division, while Janesville is right behind with 18 points. The Minnesota Magicians have a better winning percentage than the Bears, but have played just 10 games and have 16 points.
“Obviously, we’re happy with where we are at in the standings,” Kenai River head coach Kevin Murdock said. “If you look at winning percentage, we’re in second, but the key for us is to keep moving in the right direction.
“We hope to avoid any hiccups due to COVID, stay safe and healthy and see how things shake out in the next couple of months.”
Luke Pavicich made 38 saves to lead the Bears to the win. For Janesville, Owen Millward had 16 saves on 20 shots, while Riley Sims had 18 saves on 19 shots.
Pavicich was named the Bauer Midwest Division Star of the Week on Monday. Friday, Pavicich had saved 34 in a 6-1 win.
“He was really good again on Sunday,” Murdock said. “Fortunately, some college teams are starting to take notice.”
Pavicich, who is 6-foot-3 and 175 pounds, is from Clarence Center, New York. He is now 9-2-0-0, second in the NAHL with a .944 save percentage and sixth in goals-against average at 2.18.
The goalie was acquired from the Kansas City Scouts with the Bears’ last pick of the dispersal draft. Kansas City elected not to play this season due to the new coronavirus pandemic.
“He’s 6-foot-3 — a big kid and he’s pretty athletic,” Murdock said. “He competes and works really hard.”
The Bears fell behind 1-0 after the first period Sunday, but Murdock said the team played well and didn’t capitalize on chances.
“At the start of the second period, the guys came out motivated,” Murdock said.
Just 7:13 into the second period, Kenai River had a 4-1 lead, with Lucas Wahlin striking twice and Max Helgeson of Anchorage and Peter Morgan also collecting goals.
Murdock said the explosiveness on offense was good to see.
“The nice part is the scoring through the weekend was pretty evenly distributed,” he said. “Our goal is to not ever have a true fourth line.”
Brandon McNamara scored short-handed in the third period for Kenai River to finish the scoring. McNamara had two goals and two assists in the three-game series against his former team and received the second star in the Midwest Division on Monday.
The Bears will now play 12 games during the 28 days of February, starting with games at the Minot (North Dakota) Minotauros on Friday and Saturday.
“Everybody in the division has a stretch like this,” Murdock said of the packed schedule.
He said rosters have been expanded to 27. He also said if this stretch allows the team to come up to Alaska in March and spend the rest of the regular season here, as is planned, this packed section of the schedule it worth it.
Sunday
Brown Bears 5, Jets 1
Kenai River 0 4 1 —5
Janesville 1 0 0 —1
First period — 1. Janesville, Itagaki (un.), 7:17. Penalties — Kenai River 1 for 2:00.
Second period — 2. Kenai River, Helgeson (Winters, Morgan), 1:15; 3. Kenai River, Morgan (Winters, Helgeson), 1:27; 4. Kenai River, Wahlin (Schachle, Dodge), 2:56; 5. Kenai River, Wahlin (Schachle, Dodge), 7:13. Penalties — Kenai River 1 for 2:00; Janesville 3 for 6:00.
Third period — 6. Kenai River, McNamara (Poellinger, Pfister), sh, 10:13. Penalties — Kenai River 4 for 12:00; Janesville 4 for 8:00.
Shots on goal — Kenai River 11-19-9—39; Janesville 12-9-18—39.
Goalies — Kenai River, Pavicich (39 shots, 38 saves); Janesville, Millward (20 shots, 16 saves, Sims (19 shots, 18 saves).
Power plays — Kenai River 0 for 4; Janesville 0 for 3.
