The Minnesota Wilderness defeated the Kenai River Brown Bears 3-2 in overtime Saturday in North American Hockey League play at the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex.

The Bears saw a four-game winning streak snapped, while the Wilderness put an end to a seven-game losing streak.

Kenai River remains in seventh place in the Midwest Division at 17-20-2-2, good for 38 points. The Wilderness, at 18-19-4-0 for 40 points, are in sixth.

The Chippewa (Wisconsin) Steel currently hold the fourth and final playoff spot out of the division with 44 points.

Although the Bears gained a point on the Steel with the overtime loss, Kenai River head coach Taylor Shaw was frustrated on a night that showed just how thin the line is between wins and losses in the NAHL.

Kenai River looked great in the first period, going up 2-0 on a pair of pretty goals. Luke Hause scored on assists from Wes Berg and Brady Engelkes, and Engelkes scored with help from Luke Lizak and Thomas Gunderson.

With 2:59 left in the second period, Minnesota cut it to 2-1 on a short-handeded goal from Logan Nagle when Kenai River goalie Mitchell Mccusker covered the puck, but then released it, allowing Minnesota to pounce.

“He’s been great, but we’re in a playoff race now, and points matter,” Shaw said of Mccusker. “We’ve got to be detailed.

“We preach to the players about being detailed. He’s got to be detailed too. He knows it, but it cost us tonight.”

Both Mccusker (22 saves) and Minnesota goalie Niklas Erickson (23 saves) turned away multiple breakaways.

Minnesota head coach Zach Stepan said the lessons learned in the developmental NAHL can be tough.

The coach said his squad learned plenty of those lessons by following up an eight-game winning streak with the losing streak that ended Saturday.

“It’s good for these guys to learn how to be in a dogfight every night, because when they get to college, that’s what it’s gonna be,” he said.

The Bears learned some more hard lessons in the third period, taking three penalties in the final 4:17 of the game.

Kenai River was able to kill off the first penalty, but the second resulted in a 2-2 score after an Avery Anderson strike.

The third penalty came with 23 seconds left and led to the Bears starting overtime facing a four-on-three power play.

Frantisek Netusil scored 56 seconds into overtime for the winner. Netusil leads the Wilderness with 21 goals in 35 games.

“He leads our team in goals and tonight he shows why,” Stepan said. “His poise and ability to place pucks — that’s a goal scorer’s goal.”

Shaw said the three penalties were costly.

“Three bad penalties in a 2-1 hockey game,” he said. “Totally undisciplined, not needed whatsoever. Cost us a game.”

Stepan said that, oddly enough, the Wilderness were really good on special teams during the losing streak.

Saturday, they were 2 for 5 on the power play and held Kenai River to 0 for 5 while scoring short-handed. Minnesota was then just good enough five-on-five.

The coach said the key Saturday was the team focused on having fun.

“There were a couple games sprinkled in there that I thought we deserved to win, that we didn’t, and that can get really daunting on kids,” Stepan said. “You feel like you’re doing everything you can, analytically it looks great, but you’re not getting the job done.

“I’m glad we found a way to win. It’s nice to feel it again.”

The Bears will look for that feeling again Friday and Saturday, Feb. 7 and 8, when they travel to meet the Fairbanks Ice Dogs in 7:30 p.m. games.

“The locker room understands the ramifications of what just happened, and it can’t happen moving forward,” Shaw said. “We’re gonna learn from it, and we go back to work on Monday.”

Saturday

Wilderness 3, Brown Bears 2, OT

Min 0 1 1 1 —3

Ken 2 0 0 0 —2

First period — 1. Kenai River, Hause (Berg, Engelkes), 7:54. 2. Kenai River, Engelkes (Lizak, Gunderson), 18:39. Penalties — Minnesota 1 for 2:00; Kenai River 1 for 2:00.

Second period — 3. Minnesota, Nagle (Murray), sh, 17:01. Penalties — Minnesota 2 for 4:00; Kenai River 1 for 2:00.

Third period — 4. Minnesota, Anderson (Nagle, Netusil), 15:59. Penalties — Minnesota 2 for 4:00; Kenai River 3 for 6:00.

Overtime — 5. Minnesota, Netusil (Lovecchio, Dziver), 0:56. Penalties — none.

Shots on goal — Minnesota 7-10-7-1—25; Kenai River 8-8-9-0—25.

Goalies — Minnesota, Erickson (25 shots, 23 saves); Kenai River, Mccusker (25 shots, 22 saves).

Power plays — Minnesota 2 for 5; Kenai River 0 for 5.

Ryan DeAngelis of the Minnesota Wilderness and Dario Lass of the Kenai River Brown Bears battle for the puck Saturday, Feb. 1, 2025, at the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex in Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)

Kenai River defenseman Riley Mullen, Minnesota Wilderness forward Avery Anderson and Kenai River goalie Mitchell Mccusker face down a shot Saturday, Feb. 1, 2025, at the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex in Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)

Colten Nestler of the Kenai River Brown Bears carries the puck against Angel Lovecchio of the Minnesota Wilderness on Saturday, Feb. 1, 2025, at the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex in Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo by Jeff Helminiak/Peninsula Clarion)