Teddy Bears Fly and Records Fall in Sweep of Kenai
Published on January 4, 2026 under North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Minnesota Wilderness News Release
The Minnesota Wilderness strengthened their hold on first place in the NAHL's Midwest Division and extended their winning streak to four games with a 2-game home sweep of the Kenai River Brown Bears this weekend.
Friday night, the Wilderness overcame being outshot 31-19 to secure a 5-1 win. On Saturday, Noah Dziver posted six points, and Zach Homer scored three times to lead Minnesota to a 6-3 victory.
With a record of 22-7-2, the Wilderness now have 46 points and lead the Midwest by four points over second place Fairbanks. They also boast the franchise's best record ever through 31 games.
The Wilderness next takes on the Chippewa Steel this weekend for a home-and-home series. Game 1 will be Friday night in Chippewa Falls, WI, at 7 p.m., while the Saturday night rematch will be in Cloquet's Northwoods Credit Union Arena at 7:15 p.m.
Friday: Wilderness 5, Kenai River 1
Balanced scoring, strong special teams and tight goaltending led Minnesota to a series-opening triumph.
Five different goal scorers lit the lamp, led by Zach Homer and Noah Dziver, who each posted one marker and added two assists.
Two of Minnesota's tallies came on the power play, as it went 2-for-3 on the man-advantage, while keeping Kenai River scoreless on three opportunities.
Val Andersen earned the win in net making 30 saves, improving his record to 14-3-1.
The Wilderness struck three times in the first period to take command of the game. It began with Dziver notching his 16th of the season 5:27 into the frame while on the power play.
Homer then made the score 2-0 when he caught a centering pass from Andrei Gudin and roofed a shot for his team-leading 19 th of the year with 10:33 left in period 1.
In the stanza's final seconds, Logan Nagle deposited his fourth of the season. The veteran charged the goal and scored on a shot that deflected into the net off the skate of a Kenai defender with six seconds remaining.
In the middle stages of the 2nd period, the Wilderness stretched their lead to four goals thanks to Max Edwards generating his 2nd goal of the campaign. The rookie scored Minnesota's 2nd PPG of the game after receiving a centering feed from Dziver at the 8:14 mark.
After Alex Ballard got Kenai on the board in the third period, Minnesota completed the scoring when Talan Blanck fired in an empty-net goal with 1:20 left on the clock.
In the Brown Bears' net, Andrew McLouth suffered the loss, making 15 saves on 19 shots.
Saturday: Wilderness 6, Kenai River 3
On a night where Wilderness fans helped re-fill the teddy bear coffers for local first responders, the Wilderness thanked them with a victory that featured several record-breaking and record-tying performances.
The club staged a teddy bear toss where fans threw plush toys onto the ice after the Wilderness scored their first goal. Those toys were collected for local first responders who will use them to provide comfort for children involved in traumatic incidents.
However, there was nothing plush about the Wilderness effort.
The squad scored one short-handed goal to give it nine on the season, breaking the old record of eight set in 2021-22 and 2018-19.
Noah Dziver set a new team mark with five assists and six points in a single game, along with 4 assists in one period.
Zach Homer pumped in his first junior-level hat trick, which equaled the team's home mark for goals in a single-game. All of Homer's tallies came in the third period, which also tied a team record.
Homer's second goal resulted in the game-winner, which gives him eight on the season, and that too ties a team record - originally set by Jakob Romo in the franchise's inaugural NAHL season of 2013-14.
A breakaway for Minnesota's Andrei Gudin led to the game's first goal, 3:34 into the opening period. Kenai responded quickly when Massimiliano Monson tied the game 54 seconds later.
The Wilderness regained the upper hand with the tally that set the new franchise mark for short-handed tallies. Dziver registered the goal when he converted on his own breakaway with 6:43 left in the first period.
The score remained 2-1 until the third period. Homer scored Minnesota's first two goals of the final frame, only to find Kenai answer 1-2 minutes later.
Homer's first of the contest came when he completed a 2-on-1 break with a marker assisted by Dziver 34 seconds into the frame.
After Carter McCormick scored for the Brown Bears to cut the Wilderness lead to 3-2, Homer deposited his second of the night with 8:18 left. Yet, once again, the 2-goal lead was short-lived as Joe Gillespie scored for Kenai 1:03 later.
Minnesota then weathered a Brown Bear storm that included pulling its goaltender with more than 2 minutes left to play. The Wilderness managed to seal the victory thanks to empty-net tallies from Avery Anderson and Homer. Anderson's red-lighter came with 52 seconds left, while Homer completed his hat trick with less than a second on the clock.
Minnesota outshot the Brown Bears, 27-23. Ryan Gerlich recorded the win with 20 saves in the Wilderness net. Alex Reedy stopped 22 of 26 for Kenai in a losing effort.
On the power play, the Wilderness finished 0-for-5, while the Brown Bears (11-19-1) went 1-for-4.
North American Hockey League Stories from January 4, 2026
- Teddy Bears Fly and Records Fall in Sweep of Kenai - Minnesota Wilderness
- Bruins Win Seventh Straight with 4-1 Victory in St. Cloud - Austin Bruins
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