Soldotna, Alaska | 2/16/2024 | Jacqueline Hixssen
The Anchorage Wolverines leave the ice tonight with another win under their belt after dominating through three periods of Alaskan hockey.
The Wolverines took an early lead when Jackson Stimple took a shot in the first five minutes of the game, with the puck loose, Romulus Riego de Dios finished the play with a backhanded goal.
Kenai River tied the game with a powerplay goal coming from Brady Engelkes, his first goal for Kenai since being traded from the Janesville Jets.
After a series of roughing calls on the Brown Bears, the Wolverines went on a 5 v 3 powerplay, Tai Ushio capitalized on a centering pass from Bryce Monrean and widened the lead to 3-1.
One of the newest additions to the Wolverines roster, Timothy Kim, made his mark on the score sheet tonight. With his first NAHL goal coming in at 10:25 in the second frame after one-timing Tyler Hennen’s set-up pass.
In the first minute of the final frame, Kim found himself in Kenai’s defensive zone surrounded by four Brown Bears. Gaining possession behind the net, Kim sauced the puck to Riego de Dios who drained it for his second goal of the night, turning the score to 4-1.
In the eighth minute, the Brown Bears grabbed their second point of the contest with a back door goal from Samuel Sisik.
In net for the Wolverines, Vaughn Makar made 25 saves on 28 shots against.
The Brown Bears broke through the Wolverines’ defense, putting two bodies in front of Makar with only him between the puck and net. Makar fought to keep the Wolverines’ lead, denying the Brown Bears attempt.
With just over two-minutes left in the contest, Danny Bagnole intercepted a Brown Bear’s pass and secured the Wolverines fifth and final goal.
With only six seconds left in the game, Dylan Contreras put one over Makar’s right should, finalizing tonight’s score at 5-3.
The two teams will meet again tomorrow at The Ben for a 7:00pm puck drop. If you wear pink to tomorrow’s game, you will receive a FREE TICKET for Sunday’s (2/25/2024) game!
