Ritter slams door on Stars
October 27, 2006 - North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Traverse City North Stars News Release
TRAVERSE CITY - Brodie Zuk had a hand in all three Marquette goals on Friday night at Centre ICE, and that was more than enough for Rangers goalie Stephen Ritter as the visitors scored a 3-1 victory over the Traverse City North Stars in the first of a two-game set.
Zuk set up the first goal of the game - at 14:26 of the second period - and scored back-to-back markers in the third period as the Rangers pulled even with Traverse City in the NAHL's North Division at 15 points. Ritter made 33 saves, including 18 in the final stanza alone to spoil the homecoming of Stars winger Mike Glaesmer, whom the club acquired on Wednesday in a trade with Alaska.
"We can't wait until the third period to get it going," said exasperated North Stars coach Scott Gardiner. "I'm at a loss, but we can't sit back and wait for the game to come to us. We have to go out there and take charge from the first whistle and we just haven't had that in a while around here."
Stars goalkeep Stefan Shively nearly matched Ritter save for save, finishing with 27 stops on 30 shots. Kory Kaunisto set up Matt Hughes for the hosts' only lamplighter of the evening, the lone score coming with 3:56 to play. Brett Englebright also drew an assists on Hughes' goal, his seventh of the season and third in his past five outings.
"We started coming on there at the end, but it was way too late to start thinking about playing at that point," Gardiner said. "We didn't play with that sense of urgency until we were basically out of it."
The teams square off again on Saturday night as the Stars will try to salvage two points. With Mahoning Valley's 5-2 win over Alpena on Friday, four teams - Traverse City, Marquette, Team USA and Mahoning Valley - are bunched up in a four-way tie for second place in the North Division.
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.
North American Hockey League Stories from October 27, 2006
- IceDiggers fall to Phantoms 5-2 - Alpena IceDiggers
- Rangers Score Win - Marquette Rangers
- Ritter slams door on Stars - Traverse City North Stars
- Phantoms bounce first-place Alpena - Mahoning Valley Phantoms
- Rangers in the Community - Marquette Rangers
- Bobcats on the road this weekend - Bismarck Bobcats
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
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