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North Stars claim win, series

March 15, 2009 - North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Traverse City North Stars News Release


YOUNGSTOWN - In a span of just over two minutes on Sunday afternoon at the Chevy Centre in downtown Youngstown, the Traverse City North Stars laid claim to their biggest series of the season, scoring thrice in 2:11 for a 3-2 victory over first-place Mahoning Valley and a 2-1 series win.

Kyle Bonis scored a pair of goals, including his NAHL-leading eighth game-winner of the season 11 seconds into the final stanza to make the nine-hour bus ride home just a bit more jovial after the Stars' first-ever series win at Mahoning. Traverse City scored a 4-1 victory on Saturday on the heels of a series-opening 9-2 drubbing on Friday.

"Sometimes things have to get a little bit worse before they can get better," surmised Stars head coach/GM Anthony Palumbo on his team's 180-degree turnaround. "There's a lot to learn from failure sometimes, and let's just say we had a lot to learn from Friday's game. Any time you can come into Mahoning and take four out of six (points), we have to be happy."

The Phantoms (34-14-5) scored the game's first two goals, the second igniting the North Stars' three-goal spurt that began with Tim Opie (Troy, MI/Wichita Falls NAHL) at 18:00 of the middle stanza, Bonis (Lindsay, ONT/TC North Stars) 59 ticks later, and Bonis' unassisted game-bagger to open the third. C.J. Motte (St. Clair, MI/Honeybaked AAA) made 40 saves to win his second straight start and improved to 18-9-2 on the year. Motte helped the Stars clinch their first postseason berth since 2006 on Saturday in a masterful 4-1 triumph.

"Even though we were down 2-0, we had a bunch of scoring chances, and it just felt like it was a matter of time before we broke through," Palumbo explained. "There was some good back-and-forth hockey, and (Mahoning goalie Jordan) Tibbett made some big saves. Once we got on top, C.J. was just phenomenal. They had their goalie pulled and had a wide-open net with about 25-30 seconds left and C.J. stuck his glove on it. Save of the game."

Marc (Traverse City, MI/TC North Stars) and Garrett Thompson (Traverse City, MI/TC North Stars) and Nate Urbaniak (Perrysburg, OH/ TC North Stars) were credited with an assist apiece on Sunday. Garret had four points and was +4 on the weekend, Urbaniak had a goal and assisted on three others, and Marc Thompson dished out a pair of assists.

Traverse City, now 30-17-6, jumped ahead of idle Team USA and into second place in the NAHL North Division for the moment. The nationals have five games in hand, and pay a visit to Centre ICE arena next weekend, as the Under-17s visit for a Friday-Saturday series that is rife with playoff implications. USA and TC will square off at 7 p.m. both nights.



North American Hockey League Stories from March 15, 2009


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