The Weekly Growl

This posting is a little late due to an extremely busy week for me and the author. Week ending Nov. 16

Just a reminder, Mike is a high school student. He is writing these articles for a senior project. If you have any comments or suggestions that you would like to share with Mike you can email me @ dsf@krbbears.com

   Kenai played with a great amount of ferocity and heart, but unfortunately they were swept by the Avalanche.  Friday they fell 3-0 and on Saturday the Bears went down swinging with a score of 5-2.  Our Bears have recently made a big change in the roster so its understandable that the team is still trying to find a foothold with all the new chemistry they are working with.  Before this weekend the Bears said farewell to fancy handman Dajon Mingo as he was traded to Wenatchee, but Kenai also welcomed five new skaters.
   Friday the Bears were finding their form but still took it to Alaska.  Saturday was the true battle which included big hits, plenty of goals, and a good ole fight.  Kenai River looked like they were going to drop the game dismally in the third until Braden Kinnebrew and Kenai's own Brad Fusaro answered the Avalanche back to make the score 4-2.  Chance after chance it looked like the Bears could end with a draw or possibly win but the nails were pounded into the coffin after Alaska scored on an open net at the end of the third.
   The Bears will next face off against the Wenatchee Wild on November 17 and 18th, puck drops at 7:05 both nights.  Kenai will then travel to Fairbanks to play the Ice Dawgs so I encourage all to come out and support the Bears against the Wild and get them ready for the trip north.    

The Weekly Growl Week Ending Oct 25th by Michael Morin

 The Rivalry between Alaska and Kenai River was in full swing last weekend as the the two teams split.  Friday night's game was taken by our Bears via a 3-2 win by shootout, but Saturday Alaska left the Soldotna Sports Center with the W.  After watching Kenai and Fairbanks go toe to toe during the previous weekend I wasn't sure if two teams could escalate the physicality of the game anymore but the Brown Bears did not disappoint against Alaska.
   During the past week Kenai's practices had dwindling numbers due to flu like symptoms. As well as the addition of a new player, Braden Kinnebrew, from the very team they would be playing, Alaska.  Friday's game was a very hard fought match for the Bears, considering their predicament during the week, but they pulled through for the win.  Alaska's Jake Parentaeu scored the first goal of the game around 13 minutes of the first period by redirecting a teammates shot into the net.  Only a few minutes later Kenai's Kyle Van passed the puck back to the blue line where ,ex Avalanche defender, Braden Kinnebrew ripped a slap shot to score the equalizer.  The score was shortly celebrated when a couple of plays later Alaska's Tyler Shwartz scored a goal past the Bear's diving goalie, Jimmy Hamby.
   As the first period was about to end the score looked like it was going to hold into the second until, with only five seconds left, Kenai's Dajon Mingo scored.  The next two periods were played with grit and hard hits as both teams held each other to a 2-2 draw.  The shoot-out that ensued finished with the Bears on top, winning with a score of 3-2.  The second game was dismal to watch for any Bears fan but as I've pointed out before our team never gave up and fought to the finish.  Alaska outscored Kenai 8-1 with five of the Avalanche's goals coming in the first period, all within five minutes of each other.  With a score spread that far apart it was predictable that some bad beef would develop between the two teams and it all came out at 7:07 of the third period.
   Kenai's Joey Spencer and an Avalanche player started a pushing match with each other that turned into a full fledged fight, resulting in suspensions for both players. The hard hits, fancy hands, and intense rivalry will continue on November 13 and 14 at the Soldotna Sports Center as The Brown Bears face off against Alaska once again.  I encourage all Central Peninsula hockey enthusiasts as well as Brown Bear regulars to come out and support our team as they atone for their loss against our Alaskan rivals. 

The Weekly Growl is written by Michael Morin 10/19/09

This weekend the Kenai River Brown Bears showed us that they're progressing forward and are not yielding anything to their opponents without a hard contested game.  Friday and Saturday's game's were a split between the two combatant teams. Although the Bears did drop one game I'm proud to note that they still outscored Fairbanks 5-4 as a total for the weekend.  Along with the Bears finding their form a few individuals popped out this last weekend showing some fancy handwork, phenominal goals, and a couple of audience flinching hits.
   Friday night's game was, for me personally, one of the best matches I have seen at the Soldotna Sports Center since the 2006/07 high school hockey season.  The first goal of the night was scored by the visiting ice dogs at 3:59 of the first period.  Afterwards the Bears, in a timespan that lasted through two periods, had four consecutive penalty kills without even giving up an accurate shot on post.  While they're defending was only continued to solidify Soldotna's own Brad Duwe scored the equalizer at 3:06 of the second period, sending the Bears to the locker room with exactly the momentum and motivation they needed.  The third period was probably the best form I've seen the Bears compete in since they came to Kenai.  All the players came out onto the ice with that certain amount of confidence that makes an individual feel unstoppable.  
   That is exactly how they performed as they continued to stuff Fairbank's attacks and power plays. All this was overshadowed by the superb play made by Dajon Mingo at 9:39 of the third period when he leaped over a fallen defender and with only one foot planted on the ice took a backhanded snapshot into the top left corner of the net.  Mingo's spectacular goal lifted Kenai 2-1.  Once again with 6:50 left in the game Kenai's Doug Beck coasted around two Ice Dogs to notch the Bears third goal.  Friday night's game ended 3-1 in favor of our Brown Bears.
   Saturday's game was not as spectacular yet still a good game to see as the Bears came back from a 3 goal defecit to only lose by one goal.  This upcoming weekend the Kenai River Brown Bears will be facing off against fellow in state rivals the Alaska Avalanche.  I encourage everyone to come out and support our Bears, puck drops at 7:30 Friday and Saturday.