The Kenai River Brown Bears are a little more than halfway through their current season.
And this weekend, the Soldotna-based hockey team is heading to Eagle River, Wis. to play the Wisconsin Windigo.
“The last time we played them was a couple months ago up in Alaska,” said Taylor Shaw, the team's new head coach. “And I know after they left us, they’ve been playing really well. So we certainly think it’ll be a very good weekend of games. And we’re working really hard this week to get prepped.”
The Brown Bears are 31 games and 18 wins into their season.
Last season, they ended in last place for their division of the North American Hockey League. But this year, they’re tied in second, with the Fairbanks Ice Dogs.
Shaw said they’re not taking it for granted.
“We feel certainly thankful, where we’re at,” he said. “But we know that there’s a long 29 games left ahead of us here.”
He said the approach heading into the weekend, and the rest of the season, is a focus on the day-to-day.
“We’ve talked about it since the beginning of the year,” he said. “Just one day at a time and being present in the now. We’re only looking at Friday.”
The Brown Bears play Friday Dec. 30 and Saturday Dec. 31 in Wisconsin. Both games start at 7 p.m. central time, 4 p.m. Alaska time. You can follow along here.
