The early season standing in the Midwest Division of the North American Hockey League can change dramatically in a single weekend, as was evident with the Kenai River Brown Bears dropping a pair of games in Maine and dropping from first to third in the Midwest Division standings.
The Brown Bears, in the middle of a three-week road swing, fell twice to the Maine Nordiques in inter-divisional play.
Maine 3 – Kenai River 2
The Maine Nordiques scored a pair of goals in the third period to down the Brown Bears 3-2 on Friday. Peter Morgan and Logan Ritchie scored for the Brown Bears. Goalie Landon Pavlisin recorded 48 saves.
Maine 6 – Kenai River 4
Three first-period and three third-period goals pushed the Maine Nordiques past the Brown Bears 5-4 on Saturday. Kenai River received goals from Logan Ritchie, Ryan Reid, Cody Moline and Robert McCollum. Pavlisin recorded 23 saves.
Midwest Division Standings
1. Chippewa Steel 10-2-0-0 20 pts
2. Fairbanks Ice Dogs 9-4-0-1 19 pts
3. Kenai River Brown Bears 7-5-1-2 17 pts
4. Springfield Jr. Blues 5-6-2-1 13 pts
5. Mn Magicians 4-6-3-1 12 pts
6. Janesville Jets 5-9-1-0 11 pts
The Brown Bears continue on the road with games on Friday and Saturday, November 1st and 2nd with a pair of contests against the Northeast Generals.
Kenai River returns to the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex for a month-long, home stand beginning November 8th with a two-game series against the first-place Chippewa Steel.
