Playoff overtime in an elimination game simultaneously delivers hockey heaven and hockey hell.
The winners jump the boards in jubilation and savor the celebration. The losers hang their heads and lament what might have been.
The Kenai River Brown Bears ended up on the agonizing end of the equation Friday night in Soldotna, where a crowd of 3,112 packed the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex.
Minnesota Wilderness 2, Brown Bears 1.
And that’s a wrap for Kenai River’s season in the North American Hockey League.
One season after finishing with the second-worst record on the Tier II junior circuit, the Brown Bears generated a franchise-record 32 regular-season wins and were the lone team of Alaska’s three in the league to reach the postseason.
The playoffs brough pain. Minnesota swept Kenai River in the best-of-5 series, held the Brown Bears without a power-play goal in three games and permitted them just three goals in all.
On a night when Kenai River outshot Minnesota, 36-21 – the count was an ice-tilting 30-13 through 40 minutes – Wilderness goaltender Isak Posch continued to torment the Brown Bears. St. Cloud State-bound Posch racked 35 saves to cap his season conquest of Kenai River.
Posch in the series allowed just 0.99 goals per game and sported a .964 save percentage. In eight regular-season and playoff games against Kenai River, Posch put up savory stats – 7-0-1, 1.10 and .963.
Thank you fans. #recordyear pic.twitter.com/Kn8xIjf7uX
— Kenai River Brown Bears (@BrownBearsNAHL) April 29, 2023
Kenai River struck first, less than six minutes into the second period, on Nick Stevens’ goal. The lead lasted just 4:46 before Minnesota sniper Kevin Marx Noren – he tied for the league lead in regular-season goals with 34 – bagged the equalizer with his third goal of the series. Michael Quinn’s power-play goal off a face-off 51 seconds into extra time – Kenai River’s Carson Triggs was in the penalty box after his boarding penalty with 62 seconds remaining in regulation – ended things. Noren assisted on the series-clinching strike.
Nils Wallstrom, committed to American International College, furnished Kenai River solid goaltending Friday – 19 saves – and gave his crew ample opportunity in the series with a 2.02 goals-against average and .919 save percentage. But Posch was too much for the Brown Bears.
Nor did it help Kenai River’s cause that it lost the special-teams battle throughout the series. Minnesota cashed in on its only power play Friday, scored one power-play goal in all three games and went 3 for 9 in the series. Kenai River went 0 for 1 with the man advantage Friday and 0 for 5 in the series.