Wolverines Open Weekend with 6-2 Win

Nov 13, 2021

Anchorage, Alaska | 11/12/21 | Isaac Smoldon

The Anchorage Wolverines defeated the Kenai River Brown Bears in convincing fashion Friday night, winning by a final score of 6-2. Both Bohdan Panasenko and Clay Allen had two goal performances, and goaltender Shane Soderwall recorded his 3rd win of the season. Talon Sigurdson also recorded a goal in the contest, extending his point streak to 10 games.

The Wolverines started hot, with Jackson Krock getting his third goal of the year just 3 minutes and twenty-two seconds into the 1st. Three minutes after Krock’s goal, Bohdan Panasenko would get his first NAHL goal off of a backdoor tap-in from Skylar Gutierrez. The Wolverines held strong defensively, only allowing six shots in the period, all of which were turned aside by Soderwall.

The middle frame would see Kenai score first, with Ryan Finch getting the Brown Bears on the board, and cutting the Anchorage lead to one goal. Anchorage would quickly pull away however, with three Wolverines combining for four goals in the period. Sigurdson and Panasenko each picked up a goal, and Clay Allen scored twice to give the Wolverines a five-goal lead heading into the 3rd.

In the last period, Kenai would add one goal, but Anchorage’s stingy defensive effort kept them well ahead in the contest. Anchorage killed off a five-minute major and a 5-3 powerplay in the final frame, holding Kenai scoreless on the man advantage. Conversely, the Wolverines were 2-4 on the powerplay, with their season percentage tied for first in the Midwest division. Anchorage’s penalty kill is first in their division and second in the league.

Panasenko’s two-goal night earned him 1st star of the game. The Ukraine native said, “it was a great feeling to get his first NAHL goal in front of the home crowd,” and highlighted the good chemistry of the team leading to his second goal saying, “[Gutierrez] was in a more advantageous position, by dropping it off to him, we were able to make the defense and goaltender bite, and his pass back gave me a wide-open net.” The Wolverines hope to pick up four points on the weekend with a weekend sweep against the Brown Bears in Saturday’s contest.