tease

Steel take 2nd straight from Bears

The Chippewa (Wisconsin) Steel defeated the Kenai River Brown Bears 5-3 on Friday night at the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex in North American Hockey League play.

By taking the first two games of a three-game series, the Steel improve to 11-6-0-0 and move up to third place in the Midwest Division. The Brown Bears, at 11-6-1-0, fell out of first place in the division and sit in second, just a point behind the Janesville (Wisconsin) Jets.

The third game of the series is tonight at 7:30 p.m. at the sports complex.

“We gave up some untimely goals,” Kenai River head coach Taylor Shaw said. “We found a way to come back and get some goals, but we didn’t keep our foot on the gas, and they were able to come right back and get goals.”

Jack Anderson, assisted by Luke Anderson and Kotaro Tsutsumi, gave the Brown Bears a 1-0 lead after the first period.

Kade Nielsen tied it for Chippewa in the second, but Noah Holt, assisted by Drake Nabozny and Caleb Huffman, put the Bears up 2-1 with 9:02 left in the second period. Chippewa quickly fought back, with J.J. Grainda knotting the game with 7:31 left in the second, then Joe Kelly putting the Steel up 3-2 with 4:39 left in the second.

The Bears outshot the Steel 18-6 in the third period on the way to a 43-27 advantage for the game.

Luke Anderson, assisted by Holt and Bryce Monrean tied the game with 10:17 left, but again Chippewa struck quickly, with Cody Kempf scoring with 8:49 left. Matthew Brille clinched it with an empty-netter.

“I actually thought our third period was quite good,” Shaw said. “Quite frankly, I thought we dominated. They had very little zone time, but the one time they did, they found a way to score on it.

“We’ve got to find a way to stay in it and not take shifts off.”

Carter Wishart made 40 saves for the Steel, while Nils Wallstrom stopped 22 for the Bears.

Friday

Steel 5, Brown Bears 3

Chippewa 0 3 2 —5

Kenai River 1 1 1 —3

First period — 1. Kenai River, J. Anderson (L. Anderson, Tsutsumi), 14:48. Penalties — Chippewa 1 for 2:00.

Second period — 2. Chippewa, Nielsen (Lago, Brille), pp, 7:24; 3. Kenai River, Holt (Nabozny, Huffman), 10:58; 4. Chippewa, Grainda (Kempf, Rice), 12:29; 5. Chippewa, Kelly (Platter), 15:21. Penalties — Chippewa 2 for 4:00; Kenai River 2 for 4:00.

Third period — 6. Kenai River, L. Anderson (Holt, Monrean), 9:43; 7. Chippewa, Kempf (Lago, Rice), 11:11; 8. Chippewa, Brille, en, 19:41. Penalties — Kenai River 1 for 2:00.

Shots on goal — Chippewa 14-7-6—27; Kenai River 11-14-18—43.

Goalies — Chippewa, Wishart (26 shots, 23 saves); Kenai River, Wallstrom (22 shots, 18 saves).

Power plays — Chippewa 1 for 2; Kenai River 0 for 2.

More in Sports

Kenai River Brown Bears goalie Nils Wallstrom celebrates winning a shootout over the Fairbanks Ice Dogs on Saturday, March 25, 2023, at the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex in Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)
Brown Bears sweep Ice Dogs, move into 3rd place

The Kenai River Brown Bears earned a two-game sweep over the Fairbanks… Continue reading

tease
Bears top Dogs, move into 4th place

The Kenai River Brown Bears defeated the Fairbanks Ice Dogs 4-3 on… Continue reading

tease
Kenai girls take 4th, Kenai boys take 6th at state

The Kenai Central girls basketball team took fourth place and the Kardinals… Continue reading

Chad Anderson of Kasilof and Allie Ostrander guide Everett Anderson, 3, to the finish line Wednesday, July 19, 2017, at the Salmon Run Series at Tsalteshi Trails. Getting the free ride on Chad’s shoulders is Ben Anderson, 2. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)
Ostrander, Gemmell make Alaska High School Hall of Fame

Allie Ostrander, a 2015 graduate of Kenai Central High School, and Joshua… Continue reading

Kenai Central High School esports players participate in a practice match of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate ahead of a scheduled game at Kenai Central High School in Kenai, Alaska, on Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Esports Week 6: Nikiski is 1st local team to earn playoff spot

Each of the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District’s esports teams had a… Continue reading

tease
Kenai girls, boys move to 4th-place games

The Kenai girls and boys basketball teams both notched victories Friday at… Continue reading

tease
Bears host Ice Dogs, renew fight for playoff spot

The Kenai River Brown Bears begin a two-game series with the Fairbanks… Continue reading

The sun shines over Kachemak Bay on Saturday, Feb. 25, 2023, in Homer, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Out of the Office: Homer holiday

On one of the first sunny days this month, I decided to… Continue reading

tease
Kenai girls, boys lose state openers

The Kenai girls and boys basketball teams lost their opening games at… Continue reading

Most Read