The forced hiatus in Minnesota for the Kenai River Brown Bears ended on Saturday with the Brown Bears on the ice for their first game since November 14th; however, Kenai River fell on the home ice of the Chippewa Steel 5-2 in Wisconsin.
The Brown Bears can return to indoor practice ice in Minnesota beginning Monday with the Forced Pause instituted by Minnesota Governor Tim Walz on November 20th expiring. Minnesota will still restrict indoor games and will institute a on-ice mask policy effective Monday, January 4th.
Kenai River 2 – Chippewa Steel 5
Kenai River returned to Midwest Division play on Saturday in Wisconsin, falling to the Chippewa Steel 5-2 in the Brown Bears first contest in six weeks.
The Brown Bears opened the scoring with a Porter Schachle goal 14 minutes into period one and the Brown Bears were tied with the Chippewa Steel 1-1 after one period.
The Steel scored a pair of goals in the second period, before Morgan Winters drew the Brown Bears to within a goal at 3-2 late in the second period. Chippewa added a pair of third period goals while holding the Brown Bears scoreless. Final Score: Chippewa 5, Kenai River 2
Luke Pavicich recorded 25 saves on 30 shots for the Brown Bears.
Kenai River returns to divisional play with a three-game series in Janesville, Wisconsin on January 8-10 in the Janesville Ice Arena. The state of Wisconsin is allowing games with limited spectators under Wisconsin guidelines.
Midwest Division Standings
Team Games Wins Loss OTL SOL Total Points
| 1 | 9 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 10 | ||||||||||
| 2 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||||||||||
| 3 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||||||||||
| 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||||||||||
| 5 | 7 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
Previous reports on the Kenai River Brown Bears available on the current sports menu at radiokenai.com.
