Bears take first round of rivalry

SOLDOTNA — Two hometown heroes wrote the first chapter in the story of Alaska’s newest hockey rivalry Friday night in Soldotna.

Soldotna’s Garrett Bossert scored the first goal in the history of the Kenai River Brown Bears midway through the first period, while Wasilla’s Jeremiah Dargis got the season-opener for the Alaska Avalanche in the Brown Bears’ historic 6-2 win.

“That was huge,” Bossert said following the game, which attracted more than 1,000 people to the Soldotna Sports Center.

Bossert said he and his teammates wanted to make a strong opening statement both to the home crowd and the Avs.

“We were really jacked up,” Bossert said outside a boisterous Kenai River locker room.

A total of 19 Alaskans play for the two teams, which along with the Fairbanks Ice Dogs make up Alaska’s contingent in the North American Hockey League's South Division. The division also includes Wichita Falls, Texas and Topeka.

“That’s obviously going to be our biggest rival,” Bossert said.

The Brown Bears broke the game open in the third period, scoring three times in the first nine minutes to ice the Avs.

Bossert had two goals and Brett Englebright had a goal and two assists for the Brown Bears, which got goals from five different players.

Alaska head coach Jamie Smith admitted his team wasn’t quite up to speed after only limited preseason workouts in advance of the league’s season-opening game.

“We need to get in better shape,” Smith said.

Though it ended in lopsided fashion, the game was close going into the third period.

Bossert opened the scoring with 10:37 left in the first period, getting his stick on a Bryan Murphy slap shot from the left slot while the Brown Bears had a two-man advantage.

Penalties were a big factor for the Avalanche, who committed 14 infractions for 28 minutes, including two lengthy 5-on-3 situations. The frequent penalties had the effect of both allowing Kenai River more scoring chances, and limiting what Alaska could do offensively.

“Momentum is what killed us,” Smith said.

Dargis tied things up at 1-1 when he popped out from behind Kenai River goalie Steven Madej and slipped a crafty shot beneath the goalie’s stick with less than two minutes left in the period. The former Wasilla High star said picking up his first career goal at the junior level was a thrill.

“Oh man, I was stoked,” he said. “I’ve been working my whole life to play junior hockey.”

Houston’s Larry Kincaid and Anchorage’s Alex Young assisted on Dargis’ goal for the new-look Avs, which feature 14 players from Alaska, including four — Dargis, Kincaid, Willow’s Sean Ranum and Big Lake’s Kaleb Westfall — from the Mat-Su Valley.

Nick Simson gave Kenai River its second lead of the game midway through the second, after a shorthanded jailbreak on the part of the Simson and Ryan Peterson.

The two Kenai River forwards came in alone on Alaska goalie Dusan Sidor, with Simson converting Peterson’s last-second pass that left Sidor with no chance.

Alaska fought back, tying things up on an unassisted Kevin Anger wrist shot past Madej. While no assist was credited on paper, Anger got some help from perfectly-timed screen from T.J. Wilson, who crossed in front of Madej just as Anger pulled the trigger.

The Brown Bears took the lead for good with 1:32 left in the period on an unlucky goal for the Avalanche. Peterson’s casual shot from the blue line took a wicked turn off the stick of Cody Litvinoff, ricocheting through Sidor’s legs for the game-winner.

Bossert, Englebright and Kristian Leach each scored in the third period as Alaska ran out of gas.

Kenai River out shot Alaska 33-25 on the game and had a 12-3 edge in the final period.

Sidor had 27 saves, displaying both quickness as well as a flashy glove hand.

“I thought our goalie played pretty well,” Smith said.

Madej finished with 23 saves for Kenai River.

Smith said he feels like the team’s upcoming road trip to the NAHL Showcase, which begins Wednesday and runs though Saturday, will help the Avalanche get the legs moving.

“We’re just a little inconsistent,” he said.

Following the showcase, the Avalanche will hit the road for a six-game trip, stopping at division rival Wichita Falls (Texas) before heading north for games against Southern Minnesota and Alexandria (Minn.).

The team’s home opener is scheduled for Oct. 19 against Wichita Falls.

Several skirmishes broke out between players during the game, though none rose to the level of a full-blown fight. Mainly, the damage was done to the league standings, where the Brown Bears to 1-0 while Alaska fell to 0-1 and into last place.

Dargis said the Avalanche don’t expect to stay there long.

“We’re still just getting the kinks out,” Dargis said. “We’re not going to give up.”

The Avs don’t get a chance for redemption against the expansion Brown Bears until Oct. 28, when Kenai River will visit the Valley for the second round in what Kenai River’s Garret Bossert predicted will become a fierce rivalry.

“It’s gonna get ugly.”

Contact Matt Tunseth at 352-2265 or matt.tunseth@frontiersman.com

Kenai River 6, Alaska 2

Friday, Soldotna Sports Center

First period — 1. Kenai River- Bossert (Murphy, Englebright) pp 10:37, 2. Alaska- Dargis (Young, Kincaid) pp 18:32.

Second period — 3. Kenai River- Simson (Engelbright, Peterson) sh 8:37, 4. Alaska- Anger (unassisted) 13:46, 5. Litvinoff (Peterson) 18:28.

Third period — 5. Kenai River- Bossert (K. Harris, J. Harris) 2:04, 6. Kenai River- Englebright (Litvinoff, Murphy) 8:58, 7. Kenai River- Leach (Simson, Brown) pp 11:37.

Shots on goal: Alaska 11-11-3—25, Kenai River 9-12-12—33; Saves: Alaska- Sidor 8-10-9—27, Kenai River- Madej 10-10-3—23; Power plays: Alaska 1-for-6, Kenai River 2-for-11; Penalties: Alaska 14-for-28, Kenai River 9-for-18; Attendance: 1,200.