New Stars netkeeper sparkles in 2-1 win

Published on November 18, 2007 under North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Traverse City North Stars News Release


TRAVERSE CITY - One wouldn't necessarily call the roundball-crazed commonwealth of Kentucky a hotbed of hockey talent, but Chris Paliafito did the Bluegrass State proud on Saturday night at Centre ICE arena. The mild-mannered goaltender made his Traverse City North Stars debut a memorable one, holding high-octane Mahoning Valley to a single goal to go along with 31 saves in a 2-1 victory in the second of a three-game weekend series.

"We played some solid defense in front of him, and he made the stops," said Stars head coach/GM Anthony Palumbo of the Shelbyville, Ky. Native, who joined the team on Friday. "He had good rebound control, and didn't give them second and third chances. It was an excellent debut."

As was the case in the series opener on Friday night, the visiting Phantoms struck first, as Derek Graham recorded his 16th of the season at the 11:17 mark. And like Friday's affair, the Stars battled back to take the lead on Saturday, with Traverse City product Eric McLintock bagging his sixth marker of the season 8:00 into the second period and Harrison Niemann racking what turned out to be the game-clincher with 4:49 remaining before the second intermission. Clinton Bourbonais set up McLintock's goal, while Nate Urbaninak and Zach Hitch drew assists on Niemann's third of the year. The third period was a defensive struggle, with the Stars emerging with their second and third points of the weekend.

"We played some solid team defense down the stretch and got rewarded with a win," Palumbo explained. "We got down again in the first again tonight, but after coming back from 3-0 (Friday) night, we now know that no lead is insurmountable."

Mahoning Valley (13-6-2) outshot the Stars by a 32-21 margin in the setback, but didn't lose any ground on first-place St. Louis in the NAHL North Division standings. The bandits fell to the Team USA U-17s on Saturday by a 7-2 count. With Alpena's 2-1 win over Marquette, the third- through sixth-place teams are separated by a mere four points. Traverse City (8-5-4) has at least two games in hand over every other team in the North.

"Way too early to start worrying about who's where in the standings," Palumbo added. "You don't ever want to fall too far behind, but we know if we can keep winning that will all take care of itself."

The teams conclude their three-game set on Sunday in a 1 p.m. matinee at Centre ICE arena.

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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North American Hockey League Stories from November 18, 2007


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