The Kenai River Brown Bears Junior A hockey team opens the exhibition, pre-season with a home and away series against the Autin Bruins on Friday and Saturday, October 16th-17th. Friday’s contest will be on the Brown Bears “Minnesota home ice” at the Breezy Point Arena and Saturday’s game will be on Austin’s home ice.
The Brown Bears are continuing their preparation for the upcoming regular season of the North American Hockey League.
Chris Hedlund, General Manager for the Brown Bears discussed the opening weekend and number of skaters in camp.
The Brown Bears traditionally begin their season in the Lower 48 with tryout, training camps, exhibition games and showcase events and then bring the trimmed-down roster to Alaska for the regular season in the early fall. With the covid restrictions, the Brown Bears are currently based in Breezy Point, Minnesota and building their roster under different circumstances.
Hedlund explains changes to season start and roster size.
The entire 2020-21 NAHL season has been pushed back with the Kenai River Brown Bears season opener re-scheduled for November 6th against the Chippewa Steel at the Chippewa Ice Arena. The Brown Bear will remain based in Minnesota though early January.
With Alaska travel restrictions and restrictions at the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex, the home season and hockey in Alaska is still in jeopardy.
Hedlund expressed concerns over mitigation measures at SRSC and issues with travel to Alaska.
As of Wednesday’s Soldotna City Council work session and general meeting, the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex is currently limiting the spectator capacity of the SRSC to 80 spectators, socially distanced at six feet, and requiring user groups to establish mask protocols. With limited usage, no high school hockey and no Brown Bears currently using the facility, the Soldotna City Council has some time available to research and establish user guidelines for hockey events which may demand higher spectator availability.
