Rangers shut out Alpena
October 10, 2008 - North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Marquette Rangers News Release
Alpena, Mich. - The Marquette Rangers tier II Junior "A" hockey team resumed North American Hockey League play Friday night at Northern Lights Arena in Alpena.
The homecoming for Rangers head coach Kenny Miller (who coached Alpena the past three seasons) was a successful one as Marquette beat Alpena 3-0, leapfrogging the IceDiggers in the NAHL North Division standings to take over fourth place.
Kevin Kissaw stopped all 37 Alpena shots he faced on the night, turning in the first shutout for a Rangers goaltender since December 15th of 2006; when Stephen Ritter made 29 saves in a 3-0 win over the U.S. National Team Development Program.
"Overall I thought we were pretty good tonight," Miller said. "Kevin Kissaw played great, we were strong in front of him all evening long; and even though we got in some penalty trouble at times we stayed calm and fought through it and turned in a big win on the road. It's a long season, but we certainly saw some great signs of things possibly to come this year with this team, especially with Kissaw in net."
After a scoreless first period, the Rangers got on the board at 10:25 of the second when Chad Pietila beat IceDigger goaltender Nathaniel Pellegrino from Collin Saint-Onge and Garrett Ladd. The even strength goal would stand as the eventual game-winner.
Pellegrino would stop 29 of 32 Marquette shots in a losing effort.
Marquette would take a 2-0 lead when rookie Scott Henegar scored the first of two goals on the night with an unassisted effort at 14:08. Henegar would score later in the period at 17:19 with help from Pietila and defenseman Kevin Gravel.
The two-point night for Pietila makes him the team scoring leader so far for Marquette this season with 10 points (3g, 7a.)
With the win, Marquette is now tied with Motor City for fourth place in the NAHL North division. The Rangers and the IceDiggers will play again Saturday evening at 7:00PM at Northern Lights Arena. A Ranger win, coupled with a Motor City loss, would leave the Rangers alone in fourth place after the weekend.
All Rangers games are available with streaming video and audio through the teams' website www.marquetterangers.com.
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North American Hockey League Stories from October 10, 2008
- Stars win again, 5-3 - Traverse City North Stars
- Bobcats Win 6-2 over Albert Lea - Bismarck Bobcats
- Rangers shut out Alpena - Marquette Rangers
- U.S. National Under-17 Team Falls to Traverse City, 5-3 - U.S. National Team
- Bobcats Play Thunder For the First Time - Bismarck Bobcats
- Phantoms Single-Game Tickets On Sale Monday - Mahoning Valley Phantoms
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