Kenai River Defeats Anchorage 3-2 Behind Strong First Period
For the second time in less than a week, the Kenai River Brown Bears packed up their gear and piled on a bus outside of Anchorage’s Sullivan Arena, heading into the night toward the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex nearly 150 miles away. This time, the trip carried a vastly different mood after a late first-period burst of speed from 17-year-old rookie Lucas Blose powered the squad to a 3-2 victory over the Anchorage Wolverines, as reported by the Alaska Sports Report.
Blose, measuring 5-foot-4 and 135 pounds, converted a poke check at his defensive blue line into his first North American Hockey League goal at 19 minutes, 26 seconds of the opening frame. That score broke open a tight contest in front of a Halloween Eve announced crowd of 3,250, snapping a two-game losing skid for the Brown Bears (5-9-1) while halting Anchorage’s four-game winning streak.
Early Offense Sets the Tone for Brown Bears
Kenai River struck early, netting three goals in the game’s opening twenty minutes. Defenseman Roy Messick and Lukas Kott contributed to the early surge, with Kott’s goal at 11:44 marking his first tally in his 11th NAHL appearance. Anchorage captain Caleb Mahar answered on the power play at 13:26 with his league-leading 16th goal of the season, firing a shot from the left hash of the right face-off circle.
Shortly after Mahar’s strike, Blose shook loose from the defense. After stealing the puck at the blue line, he slipped past Oliver Morris and beat goaltender Maverick Avent through the five-hole. Avent finished the night with 15 saves for Anchorage, which dropped to 9-4-1 on the season.
“I made the block and then beat the guy with speed, just kind of going off instinct and beat the goalie five hole,” Blose said.
Goaltending and Defensive Resilience Secure the Win
Between the pipes, Kenai River goaltender Devin Rustlie delivered a 26-save performance, bouncing back from a relief outing last Saturday where he surrendered three goals in a 6-3 Anchorage victory. Rustlie preserved the lead with a pad stack near the left post against Anchorage’s Sheldon Rioux at 5:12 of the third period.
The Brown Bears weathered a late push by killing off penalties in the final 3:45, a stretch that included 1:37 with Avent pulled for an extra attacker. Anchorage coach Mike Aikens pointed to early complacency as a factor in the opening-period deficit.
“Always something you fight as a coach when things are going so well,” Aikens said. “We had a pretty hard week of practice to try and avoid what you saw in the first period. I thought we let some complacency slip in.”
Anchorage returns to action hosting the Minnesota Mallards next Friday and Saturday at Sullivan Arena, while Kenai River prepares for a six-game homestand featuring four games against Fairbanks and two against Anchorage.
