The Anchorage Wolverines finished a two-game sweep of the Kenai River Brown Bears on Saturday night at Ben Boeke Ice Arena in North American Hockey League play.
The Wolverines (28-18-4-2) won 7-2 to move into the fourth and final playoff spot in the Midwest Division. The Bears (13-38-3-2) lost their sixth straight to remain in last in the division.
Anchorage also used the win to increase its lead in the Club 49 Cup, the battle for supremacy between Alaska’s three NAHL clubs. The Wolverines have 30 points, while the Fairbanks Ice Dogs have 27 and the Brown Bears have 11.
Kenai River now has just four games remaining in the season and all will be at 7:30 p.m. at the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex — Friday and Saturday against the Ice Dogs; and April 8 and 9 against the Minnesota Magicians.
Kenai River interim head coach Taylor Shaw said it will not be hard to get his team up for the games, especially with the Ice Dogs in a fight for first in the division and for the Club 49 Cup.
“We talk about it all the time in the locker room — we’re still playing for something,” Shaw said. “There’s still NCAA commitments and these players have something to prove.
“Is it hard going to the rink some days? Absolutely. But we still have something to fight for and we’d like to throw a wrench in the things everybody else is playing for.”
Shaw said not much went right for the team Saturday night. He said the Bears had two goals disallowed, including one just two minutes into the game.
The coach also said Kenai River continued a trend of not being able to capitalize on odd-man rushes.
Matt Johnson and Drake Albers put the Wolverines up 2-0 after the first period, then Clay Allen, Hunter Schmitz, Matt Johnson and Hunter Bischoff had it 6-0 by the end of the second period.
Levi Gho had five saves on seven shots for the Bears, while Bryant Marks saved 15 of 20. Shane Soderwall saved 25 of 27 shots for Anchorage.
“At one point, they had seven goals on 19 shots,” Shaw said. “You can’t win a hockey game like that.
In the third period, Talon Sigurdson put Anchorage up 7-0. Sean Henry, assisted by Kris Zapata and Carson Triggs, and Caden Triggs, assisted by Henry and Tyler Behl, closed the scoring for the Bears.
Shaw said despite the tough game, there have been positive developments. Carson Triggs is tendered for next season and got his first point Saturday.
This week, Anchorage’s Bryce Monrean, 18, announced his commitment to Division I University of Alaska Anchorage. Monrean is a 5-foot-11, 165-pound forward.
After playing a game for the Bears last season, Monrean has 10 goals and 27 assists in 56 games for the Bears this season.
Shaw said Monrean had a couple offers on the table.
“He’s an awesome kid, and well respected in the locker room,” Shaw said. “He’s really blossomed in the last seven months and I’m excited to see what he can do in the future.”
Shaw said Monrean will play another year of junior hockey before going to Fairbanks.
Saturday
Wolverines 7, Brown Bears 2
Kenai River 0 0 2 —2
Anchorage 2 4 1 —7
First period — 1. Anchorage, Johnson (Krock, Ramsey), 3:25; 2. Anchorage, Albers (un.), sh, 14:36. Penalties — Kenai River 1 for 2:00; Anchorage 2 for 4:00.
Ssecond period — 3. Anchorage, Allen (Friesen, Albers), 6:53; 4. Anchorage, Schmitz (Pederson, Morris), 11:31; 5. Anchorage, Johnson (un.), 13:14; 6. Anchorage, Bischoff (Hennen, Panasenko), 18:55. Penalties — Kenai River 1 for 2:00.
Third period — 7. Anchorage, Sigurdson (Westin), 1:33; 8. Kenai River, Henry (Zapata, Triggs), 13:55; 9. Kenai River, Triggs (Henry, Behl), 18:22. Penalties — Kenai River 3 for 6:00; Anchorage 3 for 6:00.
Shots on goal — Kenai River 6-7-14—27; Anchorage 8-9-10—27.
Goalies — Kenai River, Gho (7 shots, 5 saves), Marks (20 shots, 15 saves); Anchorage, Soderwall (27 shots, 25 saves).
