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Stars best Rangers, 3-1

January 23, 2009 - North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Traverse City North Stars News Release


TRAVERSE CITY - That haze around the Marquette net on Friday at Centre ICE arena didn't have anything to do with rink conditions or Zamboni exhaust - it was smoke from the flaming twig carried by Traverse City North Stars captain Kyle Bonis.

Bonis (Lindsay, ONT/TC North Stars) scored a pair of goals, including his fourth game-winning marker of the year, as the Stars knocked off the Rangers by a 3-1 margin in the first of a two-game weekend series. The winger now has five goals in the past three games, 12 in his last 11, and has an even 20 through 34 contests. TC netkeep C.J. Motte (St. Clair, MI/Honeybaked AAA) handled any residual defensive duties with aplomb, steering aside all but one of the 24 shots he saw.

"Kyle is scoring goals of all kinds, and we do look to him for offense, two-way game and overall leadership qualities," said Traverse City head coach/GM Anthony Palumbo. "And right now, we're getting production from so many guys. Tonight it was a great team win against a quality opponent, from C.J. out - all the way up front."

The North Stars grabbed a 2-0 lead seven minutes into the second period on Bonis tallies just over three minutes apart. Mike Schenfeld (Littleton, CO/Lake Forest Academy Prep) and reigning NAHL North Player of the Week Garrett Thompson (Traverse City, MI/TC North Stars) assisted on the initial salvo, with Thompson recording his sixth helper in the last three games on the second, the eventual game- winner.

After Marquette closed the gap to 2-1 on a James Gallagher score at 8:27 of the middle stanza, the teams battled through almost 32 minutes of scoreless hockey until Sean Burke (Traverse City, MI/TC North Stars) put a dollop of Cool Whip on top with an empty-netter in the final seconds. Travis White (Sterling Heights, MI/St. Louis NAHL) and Eric O'Hearn (Traverse City, MI/TC North Stars) assisted.

"I think our forecheck was the key to the game," Palumbo opined. "We used all four lines and all four were pretty effective, keeping the puck down low. I wouldn't exactly call it domination, but we got better as the game went on and took a lot of the pressure off our defense."

Traverse City improved to 21-9-5, and kept pace with first-place Mahoning Valley (49 pts.), which scored a 4-3 win on Friday at Motor City. The teams are still separated by two points in the NAHL North standings, followed by idle Alpena (44 pts.) and Marquette (41).

"No matter what's going on in other rinks, we still have to come out and win our own games," Palumbo said. "I know that's a popular cliché, but worrying too much about the standings can potentially lead to a loss of focus. I'm not going to say we aren't watching scores, but the primary focus has to be on the things you can control."

The Stars and Rangers - now in an 8-8 tie in the clubs' season- long SmithBarney Challenge Cup series after seven of 14 meetings in 2008-09 - will meet up again on Saturday night at Centre ICE. Face- off is slated for 7 p.m.

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.

Traverse City North Stars

1600 Chartwell Drive - Traverse City, Michigan 49686

Office: (231) 941-9200 - Fax: (231) 941-9201

www.traversecitynorthstars.com

Directions to Centre ICE: http://www.traversecitynorthstars.com/ directions.htm

North American Hockey League: www.nahl.com



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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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