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Rangers stun Stars

January 24, 2008 - North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Traverse City North Stars News Release


MARQUETTE - It was feast and famine for the Traverse City North Stars on Thursday at Lakeview Arena, but in the end the Stars came up a morsel shy, dropping a 7-6 overtime contest in Marquette.

Traverse City raced to leads of 2-0, 4-1, and 6-2 before the host Rangers reeled off five consecutive goals, including the decisive marker at 2:08 of the extra session.

"Marquette continued to play hard and we didn't," said Stars head coach/GM Anthony Palumbo. "We spent at least 20 minutes on film last night talking about our play away from the puck, and I guess it just ... didn't take. Six of their goals came from within five feet of the goal. It's never the guy who has the puck who scores the goal - it's the guy away from the puck."

The loss overshadowed the stellar stat storm of newly-appointed captain Harrison Niemann (Canton, MI/Omaha USHL), who recorded just the fifth hat trick in North Stars history, and Nate Urbaniak (Perrysburg, OH/Toledo Jr B CSHL), who dished out his first career playmaker (three assists).

Niemann paced a potent North Stars power play, which converted four of eight man-advantage opportunities on Thursday, with a pair of special teams tallies. His first - the only goal of the opening period - came just over seven minutes in. Kyle Bonis (Lindsay, ONT/ Indiana USHL) and Urbaniak (Perrysburg, OH/Toledo Jr B CSHL) assisted on the play. Neimann opened the second stanza with another power play marker at 5:36, set up by Urbaniak.

After the Rangers cut the deficit in half 12 seconds later, the Stars banged home a pair of quick-fire rejoinders 36 ticks apart. Kyle Jean (Sault Ste. Marie, MI/Marquette NAHL) potted his first in a TC sweater at 6:25, followed by Niemann at 7:01. Clinton Bourbonais (Whitmore Lake, MI/Orchard Lake St. Mary's Prep) and Kory Kaunisto (Sault Ste. Marie, MI/Waterloo USHL) set up Jean's marker, while defensemen Phil Wendecker (Westland, MI/Livonia Churchill HS) and Jonathan Sheridan (Midland, MI/Flint Jr B CSHL) drew assists on Niemann's third of the contest.

The Rangers struck back with a power play goal of their own at 12:34 of the second, but Chris Heineman (New Boston, MI/Honeybaked AAA) made it 5-2 late in the frame, and Marc Thompson (Traverse City, MI/ Soo Indians AAA) opened the third period with a lamplighter to give the North Stars a seemingly insurmountable four-goal bulge.

"Even when we were up big, it wasn't necessarily because we were all that sharp," Palumbo added. "It wasn't the most well-played game, but given that both teams were coming off a four-game weekend in Youngstown, some of that isn't hard to understand."

The Rangers scored a quartet of goals in a span of 14 minutes to close out regulation, including Mike Macari's clutch equalizer with : 50 on the clock. Austin Mattson registered the winner just over two minutes into the fourth stanza.

"We don't seem to be learning from our mistakes," Palumbo continued. "The same lapses we identified in November are still costing us games in late January. Tonight, it seemed like we really didn't want to lift guys' sticks when they were standing at the crease."

TC (11-18-9) fell behind in the SmithBarney Challenge Cup series, and now trail the Rangers in Cup points, 12-6, with four head-to-head matchups left.

The North Stars won't have long to reflect on the collapse, as the U.S. National Team Development Program's Under-17 squad comes into Centre ICE arena for a Friday-Saturday twinbill, both at 7 p.m.



North American Hockey League Stories from January 24, 2008


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