The regular season for the North American Hockey League is in the books and the playoffs and road to the Robertson Cup open on April 12th for the top four teams in the Midwest Division.
The Kenai River Brown Bears will again not advance to the divisional playoffs.
The Kenai River Brown Bear Junior A hockey team closed the regular season in Fairbanks winning one of three games against the Fairbanks Ice Dogs. With a fifth place finish in the Midwest Division and an overall record of 23-31-3-3 and 52 points, the Brown Bears finish nine points short of the fourth place Janesville Jets (the top four teams in the division advance to the playoffs).
Kenai River’s final three-game road series against the first place Ice Dogs resulted in a 3-1 victory for Fairbanks, a 6-5 win for the Brown Bears in a shootout, and a 3-0 shutout by the Ice Dogs over the Brown Bears on Saturday. The Ice Dogs claim the Ravn Cup Series with a head-to-head record of 9-3.
NAHL Midwest Division Playoffs
The Ice Dogs will host the Janesville Jets in the first three games of a five-game series April 12-14 at the Big Dipper Arena in Fairbanks. Games four and five, if necessary, will be played at the Janesville Ice Arena.
The Ice Dogs, with a first-round series victory, will also hold home ice advantage in the Midwest Division championships series. The divisional champions will advance to the Robertson Cup National Tournament on May 10-14 in Blaine, Minnesota.
The Fairbanks Ice Dogs advanced to the final four in 2018 and won the Robertson Cup in 2011, 2014 and 2016.
