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Bismarck holds off North Stars, 4-3

September 14, 2006 - North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Traverse City North Stars News Release


BLAINE, Mn. - There wasn't enough meat in the North Stars sandwich on Thursday at the North American Hockey League Showcase in suburban Minneapolis, as the Bismarck Bobcats collected a pair of goals in each of the bookend periods, and Traverse City scored all three of its tallies in the middle stanza, in a 4-3 affair at Schwan SuperRink.

After the Bobcats' Kyle Maggard and Tyler Romasco scored first period goals to give the Cats a 2-0 edge - including Romasco's with just 1:04 on the clock - the Stars erupted for a trio of markers in the second session. Jared Mullen had the first a mere 11 seconds in on an unassisted effort, followed by Zach Hitch's first career NAHL goal at 7:43. Fellow rookie Sabastion Kimmel drew the assists. Captain Patrick Nagorsen levied his first score of the 2006-07 campaign (Jonathan Juliano, Richie Zobak) to give Traverse City a 3-2 edge that would last through the second intermission, but just 4:21 into the third period before Daniel Slira put the clubs on equal footing again. Gerritt Hooker's power play goal with 3:38 to play put Bismarck up for good.

"We didn't come out in the first period ready to play," admitted North Stars head coach Scott Gardiner. "And they were coming off an 8-0 loss yesterday, and they were all fired up. We finally got things going there in the second (period), but we just couldn't seem to stay out of the box, especially in the third period."

The clubs were whistled for 11 minor penalties each, including a pair assessed to the Bobcats with less than three minutes remaining in regulation. Bismarck goalkeep Tim Krystosek was able to fend off the Stars' late rushes, and TC fell back to .500 on the young season at 1-1-0.

"It wasn't as much what they did as what we didn't do - especially coming out of the gate," Nagorsen appraised. "We gave up a lot of power play chances, and any time you do that you run the risk of getting burned, as we did."

Stefan Shively saw his first action in net for Traverse City, rebuking 36 of the 40 shots he faced. Krystosek stopped 31 of 34 for the Bobcats (1-1-0).

The North Stars take on Santa Fe in NAHL Showcase action on Friday. The Roadrunners dropped a 5-4 decision in overtime to Mahoning Valley on Thursday, but trounced Bismarck by an 8-0 count in the teams' Showcase opener on Wednesday.

"We know they're fast, we know they're good," Nagorsen said. "You want to either forget a loss like this one just like you should forget a win a day later, but at the same time you try to use it as fuel."

The Stars wrap up the four-day event on Saturday against Wichita Falls.

We thank you, our media partners, for your continued interest in Traverse City North Stars hockey. If there is anything we can do to help facilitate any aspect of your coverage, please do not hesitate to contact us. You are a valued component of North Stars hockey.

For more information, call Lance-Michael Correia at (231) 632-5047, the Traverse City North Stars office at (231) 941-9200 or visit the team's Web site at: www.traversecitynorthstars.com.



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The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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