Kenai River Brown Bears
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| Kenai River Brown Bears | |
|---|---|
 | |
| City | Soldotna, Alaska |
| League | North American Hockey League |
| Division | Midwest |
| Founded | 2007 |
| Home arena | Soldotna Sports Center |
| Colors | Brown |
| Owner | Kenai Peninsula Youth Foundation |
| General manager | Nate Kiel |
| Head coach | Taylor Shaw |
| Franchise history | |
| 2007–present | Kenai River Brown Bears |
The Kenai River Brown Bears are a Tier II junior ice hockey team in the North American Hockey League based in Soldotna, Alaska. The team joined the North American Hockey League (NAHL) as an expansion team for the 2007–08 season, and since then has upgraded and added team-specific facilities to the 2,000 plus capacity Soldotna Sports Center it calls home.
On February 28, 2017, during a major slump in the Alaskan economy, years of team futility and increased travel costs, the Brown Bears announced it would cease operations at the end of the 2016–17 season.[1] However, after a fan fundraising effort, the Brown Bears applied to the NAHL for approval to reactivate in April 2017 and was approved.[2]
Due to the travel restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Brown Bears temporarily relocated home games to Breezy Point, Minnesota, for most of the 2020–21 season[3][4] until mid-April 2021.[5]
The 20-21 season marked the first season the Brown Bears won a playoff series, winning the divisional semifinals over the Janesville Jets.
| Season | GP | W | L | OTL | PTS | GF | GA | PIM | Finish | Playoffs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007–08 | 58 | 12 | 38 | 8 | 32 | 144 | 257 | 1272 | 6th of 6, South 18th of 18, NAHL | Did not qualify |
| 2008–09 | 58 | 14 | 36 | 8 | 36 | 165 | 249 | 1350 | 4th of 4, West 17th of 19, NAHL | Lost Div. Semifinal series, 0–3 (Fairbanks Ice Dogs) |
| 2009–10 | 58 | 12 | 40 | 6 | 30 | 144 | 247 | 1045 | 4th of 4, West 19th of 19, NAHL | Lost Div. Semifinal series, 0–3 (Wenatchee Wild) |
| 2010–11 | 58 | 27 | 24 | 7 | 61 | 189 | 191 | 1076 | 4th of 6, West 17th of 26, NAHL | Lost Div. Semifinal series, 0–3 (Fairbanks Ice Dogs) |
| 2011–12 | 60 | 31 | 25 | 4 | 66 | 186 | 189 | 894 | 4th of 6, West 15th of 28, NAHL | Lost Div. Semifinal series, 0–3 (Fairbanks Ice Dogs) |
| 2012–13 | 60 | 29 | 25 | 6 | 64 | 139 | 224 | 1115 | 3rd of 4, West 14th of 24, NAHL | Lost Div. Semifinal series, 2–3 (Fairbanks Ice Dogs) |
| 2013–14 | 60 | 28 | 24 | 8 | 64 | 164 | 178 | 1181 | 4th of 6, Midwest 14th of 24, NAHL | Lost Div. Semifinal series, 2–3 (Fairbanks Ice Dogs) |
| 2014–15 | 60 | 16 | 42 | 2 | 34 | 132 | 244 | 963 | 5th of 5, Midwest 24th of 24, NAHL | Did not qualify |
| 2015–16 | 60 | 4 | 51 | 5 | 13 | 109 | 232 | 1351 | 6th of 6, Midwest 22nd of 22, NAHL | Did not qualify |
| 2016–17 | 60 | 12 | 46 | 2 | 26 | 121 | 233 | 1255 | 6th of 6, Midwest 23rd of 24, NAHL | Did not qualify |
| 2017–18 | 60 | 18 | 38 | 4 | 40 | 153 | 238 | 1269 | 6th of 6, Midwest 22nd of 23, NAHL | Did not qualify |
| 2018–19 | 60 | 23 | 31 | 6 | 52 | 139 | 174 | 1088 | 5th of 6, Midwest 20th of 24, NAHL | Did not qualify |
| 2019–20 | 52 | 27 | 19 | 6 | 60 | 197 | 182 | 853 | 3rd of 6, Midwest 13th of 26, NAHL | Postseason cancelled |
| 2020–21 | 48 | 22 | 24 | 2 | 46 | 155 | 168 | 787 | 4th of 5, Midwest 20th of 23, NAHL | Won Div. Semifinal series, 3–1 (Janesville Jets) Lost Div. Final series, 2–3 (Minnesota Magicians) |
| 2021–22 | 60 | 14 | 41 | 5 | 33 | 147 | 256 | 1127 | 8th of 8, Midwest 28th of 29, NAHL | Did not qualify |
| 2022–23 | 60 | 32 | 24 | 4 | 68 | 170 | 185 | 1095 | 3rd of 8, Midwest 12th of 29, NAHL | Lost Div. Semifinal series, 0–3 (Minnesota Wilderness) |
| 2023–24 | 60 | 20 | 34 | 6 | 46 | 171 | 232 | 931 | 8th of 8th Midwest 27 of 32 NAHL | Did not qualify |
| 2024–25 | 59 | 21 | 30 | 8 | 50 | 159 | 216 | 988 | 7th of 8th Midwest 27 of 35 NAHL | Did not qualify |
