Rangers Take a Rest

Published on February 14, 2008 under North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Marquette Rangers News Release


Marquette - The Marquette Rangers, coming of a split at second-place Mahoning Valley, will be off this weekend before resuming play in the North American Hockey League North Division February 22nd and 23rd.

The Rangers beat the Phantoms 6-2 last Friday, before suffering a 4-1 setback Saturday night.

Despite the loss on Saturday, head coach Randy Enders was pleased with the overall performance of the team, and says he feels good about where the Rangers are with 12 games remaining.

"Our older guys are really starting to pick it up as we head into the last part of the season. Nic Weight has been finding the net on a regular basis, Jimmy Gallagher is up there in scoring leadership now; we're getting points from (Mike) Macari and (Derek) Grogan night after night which will only spell good things for our club" the coach said.

"Mix in the young talent we have; guys like Josh Bussell, Austin Mattson, Garrett Ladd, Chad Pietila, Collin Saint-Onge; guys who aren't rookies anymore after all the games we've played and we're a pretty solid line-up every night. The tough part is staying focused during a 58 game season, so this weekend off is at a great time for us to get rested and ready to go for the playoff stretch" Enders added.

When the Rangers do return to action it'll be with two consecutive series on the road. First up is the U.S. National Team Development Program U-17's in Ann Arbor, before heading to Traverse City to battle the North Stars February 29th and March 1st. Marquette finishes the season with 6out of their last 8 at home at Lakeview Arena.

Although in the midst of a 34 day swing off of home-ice, the Rangers say they like the way the schedule plays-out to end the season.

"I think it's almost like a reward for these two long road trips" said Rangers goaltender Beau Christian. "We need as many points as we can get on the road, but if we can get back home in decent shape I know we'll be O.K. We have such great fans, and we've proven we can win at home so I'm really looking forward to ending the season here. We just need to win as many games as we can before then and let things play-out."

"It was like this last year too and it was really good for us to play at home at the end of the season" the second year Ranger added.

Marquette (23-20-3) currently sits in fourth place in the NAHL North Division with 49 points, four points behind third place Alpena and five points ahead of the fifth place U.S. National Team Development Program.

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North American Hockey League Stories from February 14, 2008


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