The Kenai River Brown Bears are a Tier II junior

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...

team in the North American Hockey League based in

Soldotna, Alaska Soldotna is a city in the Kenai Peninsula Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. At the 2020 census, the population was 4,342, up from 4,163 in 2010. It is the seat of the Kenai Peninsula Borough. Soldotna is located in the Southcentral portion ...

. The team joined the North American Hockey League (NAHL) as an expansion team for the 2007–08 season, and since then has upgraded and added team-specific facilities to the 2,000 plus capacity Soldotna Sports Center it calls home. On February 28, 2017, during a major slump in the Alaskan economy, years of team futility and increased travel costs, the Brown Bears announced it would cease operations at the end of the 2016–17 season. However, after a fan fundraising effort, the Brown Bears applied to the NAHL for approval to reactivate in April 2017 and was approved. Due to the travel restrictions caused by the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

, the Brown Bears temporarily relocated home games to

Breezy Point, Minnesota Breezy Point is a city in Crow Wing County, Minnesota, United States. It is part of the Brainerd Micropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 2,346 at the 2010 census. History The city of Breezy Point is best known for being the home to ...

, for most of the 2020–21 season until mid-April 2021.

Season-by-season records

Playoffs

*2009 :First Round –

Fairbanks Ice Dogs The Fairbanks Ice Dogs are a Tier II junior ice hockey team in the North American Hockey League's Midwest Division. The Ice Dogs play home games at the 2,200-seat Big Dipper Ice Arena in Fairbanks, Alaska. History Originally started in 1997 in ...

defeated Kenai River Brown Bears ''3-games-to-0'' *2010 :First Round –

Wenatchee Wild The Wenatchee Wild is a Junior A ice hockey team in the British Columbia Hockey League. The team plays its home games at the 4,300-seat Town Toyota Center in Wenatchee, Washington. Initially, the team was part of the North American Hockey League ...

defeated Kenai River Brown Bears ''3-games-to-0'' *2011 :Divisional Semifinals –

defeated Kenai River Brown Bears ''3-games-to-0'' *2012 :Divisional Semifinals –

defeated Kenai River Brown Bears ''3-games-to-0'' *2013 :Divisional Semifinals –

defeated Kenai River Brown Bears ''3-games-to-2'' *2014 :Divisional Semifinals –

defeated Kenai River Brown Bears ''3-games-to-2'' *2021 :Division Semifinals – Kenai River Brown Bears defeated

Janesville Jets The Janesville Jets are a Tier II junior ice hockey team in the North American Hockey League. Based in Janesville, Wisconsin, their home games are played at the Janesville Ice Arena. History The Jets name was chosen by a name-the-team contes ...

''3-games-to-1'' :Division Finals –

Minnesota Magicians The Wisconsin Windigo are a Tier II junior ice hockey team in the North American Hockey League's Midwest Division. Based in Eagle River, Wisconsin, the Windigo play their home games at Eagle River Stadium, affectitionately referred to as the "D ...

defeated Kenai River Brown Bears ''3-games-to-2''

Head coaches

*2007–2009: Mike Flanagan *2011–2013: Oliver David *2013–2016: Geoff Beauparlant *2016–2017: Jeff Worlton *2017–2019: Josh Petrich *2019: Dan Bogdan (interim) *2019–2021: Kevin Murdock *2021: Josh Dubinsky *2021–present: Taylor Shaw (interim)

References

External links

*
NAHL website
2007 establishments in Alaska Ice hockey teams in Alaska Kenai Peninsula Borough, Alaska North American Hockey League teams Ice hockey clubs established in 2007 {{US-icehockey-team-stub