The North American Hockey League (NAHL) has announced the schedule for the 2018 Robertson Cup Playoffs and Championship, which includes the Final Four to be played at Fogerty Ice Arena in Blaine, Minnesota, from May 11-14, 2018. The Robertson Cup is awarded to the national playoff champion of the NAHL
Brown Bears Season Wrap-Up
The Kenai River Brown Bears Junior A hockey team finished out of the playoff race for a fourth-straight season; finishing with a 18-38-1-3 overall record and 6th place in the six-team Midwest Division. The top four teams in each division advance to the Robertson Cup playoffs.
Kenai River finished with the 2nd worst overall record in the NAHL earning 40 points in the regular season; finishing ahead of the South Division Topeka Roadrunners with 38 points.
The Brown Bears in 11 seasons have not advanced past the first round of the playoffs and for the fourth year fail to earn a position in the NAHL playoffs.
Robertson Cup Playoff Breakdown
Division Semifinals (Best of 5)
The Club seeded first in each division will compete in a best-of-five series with the fourth seeded Club in the same division. The Club seeded second in each division will compete in a best-of-five-series against the Club seeded third in the same division. Round 1 of the playoffs may begin no earlier than Thursday, April 12, 2018 and must conclude no later than Monday, April 23, 2018. The Club seeded higher in each division semifinal series has the right to host up to three games in Round 1, and the Club seeded lower in each division semifinal series must be able to host at least two games.
Midwest Division Semi-Finals (best of 5)
#1 Fairbanks Ice Dogs vs. #4 Minnesota Magicians
Game 1: Friday, April 13 @ Fairbanks, 7:30pm
Game 2: Saturday, April 14 @ Fairbanks, 7:30pm
Game 3: If Fairbanks is up 2-0, Saturday, April 20 @ Minnesota, 7:00pm
Game 3: If series is tied 1-1 or Minnesota is up 2-0, Sunday, April 15 @ Fairbanks, 5:00pm
Game 4: April 20 or 21 @ Minnesota, 7:00pm*
Game 5: April 21 or 22 @ Minnesota, 7:00pm*
#2 Janesville Jets vs. #3 Springfield Jr. Blues
Game 1: Friday, April 13 @ Janesville, 7:00pm
Game 2: Saturday, April 14 @ Janesville, 7:00pm
Game 3: Friday, April 20 @ Springfield, 7:05pm
Game 4: Saturday, April 21 @ Springfield, 6:05pm*
Game 5: Monday, April 23 @ Janesville, 6:00pm*
Division Finals (Best of 5)
The two Clubs in each division that won a division semifinal series shall compete in a best-of-five series against each other. The division finals may begin no earlier than Thursday, April 28, 2016 and conclude no later than Sunday May 8, 2016. Clubs shall cooperate to schedule division final series competition. The higher seeded Club will have the right to host up to three games. The lower seeded Club must be able to host a minimum of two games.
NAHL Robertson Cup Championship
The four divisional playoff champions will advance to the Robertson Cup Championship, which will be held at the Fogerty Arena in Blaine, Minnesota. Clubs will be seeded 1-4 based upon their finish in the NAHL regular-season standings. If necessary, the tie-breaking policy adopted in the NAHL Rules and Regulations will be applied to determine the final seeding. The game schedule will be as follows: The #1 Seed will face the #4 seed in a best of three series. The #2 seed will face the #3 seed in a best of three series. The two series winners will advance on to a one-game playoff to determine the Robertson Cup Champion. The event will begin on Friday, May 11th and conclude on Monday, May 14th.
