Kenai River Brown Bears
The Kenai River Brown Bears are a Tier II junior ice hockey team in the North American Hockey League based in Soldotna, Alaska. The team joined the North American Hockey League (NAHL) as an expansion team for the 2007–08 season, and since then has upgraded and added team-specific facilities to the 2,000 plus capacity Soldotna Sports Center it calls home.
| Kenai River Brown Bears | |
|---|---|
| City | Soldotna, Alaska |
| League | North American Hockey League |
| Division | Midwest |
| Founded | 2007 |
| Home arena | Soldotna Sports Center |
| Colors | Brown |
| Owner(s) | Kenai Peninsula Youth Foundation |
| General manager | Nate Kiel |
| Head coach | Taylor Shaw |
| Franchise history | |
| 2007–present | Kenai River Brown Bears |
On February 28, 2017, during a major slump in the Alaskan economy, years of team futility and increased travel costs, the Brown Bears announced it would cease operations at the end of the 2016–17 season. However, after a fan fundraising effort, the Brown Bears applied to the NAHL for approval to reactivate in April 2017 and was approved.
Due to the travel restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Brown Bears temporarily relocated home games to Breezy Point, Minnesota, for most of the 2020–21 season until mid-April 2021.
The 20-21 season marked the first season the Brown Bears won a playoff series, winning the divisional semifinals over the Janesville Jets.