Stars Cap Sweep with 2-0 Shutout

Published on March 6, 2011 under North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Traverse City North Stars News Release


TRAVERSE CITY - The Traverse City North Stars have not clinched a playoff berth in the NAHL North Division, but a three-game sweep of the Michigan Warriors puts the Stars in a favorable position to earn one of the North's four postseason spots.

With a 2-0 victory on Sunday afternoon at Centre ICE, Traverse City inched closer to extending its season, and is even creeping up on second-place Janesville in the chase for one of the two home-ice positions for the first round.

North Stars goalie Tyler Marble (Howell, MI/TC North Stars/Lake Superior St.) stopped all 25 shots that came his way on Sunday, including 14 in the final period to preserve a tenuous 1-0 lead - after James Albrecht (Geneva, IL/Chicago NAHL) scored the only goal of the first 58 minutes - to pen his fourth shutout of 2010-11.

"When you get good goaltending, there's always a chance to win," said TC head coach/GM Anthony Palumbo. "We played really well for two periods today, Michigan came out with a bit more urgency in the third, but Tyler was really good in that period. We didn't give up a ton of good shots, but when we did Tyler was right there for us, and that was huge."

With 3-2 wins on both Friday in Flint and Saturday at Centre ICE, plus Sunday's broom job, the Stars improved to 33-15-1 and lumbered to within two points of second-place Janesville in the North standings. Traverse City has two games in-hand on the Jets, owns a seven-point lead over the Warriors, and eight-point advantage on fifth-place Motor City. With a three-game weekend at St. Louis starting next Friday, Palumbo says any jubilation about this weekend's sweep should be short-lived.

"I told the guys to enjoy it in the locker room," he explained. "But I told them that when they walk outta here, they should starting thinking about St. Louis. They're one of the top teams in this league, they have an excellent record at home, and it's a tough task for any team to go in there and try to be successful."

Albrecht potted the only full-squad goal of the game, taking a pass from Tim Opie (Troy, MI/TC North Stars) and besting Warriors netkeep Brach Tiller for the only time on Sunday. Ainsworth deposited an empty-net marker from just inside the blue line with 1:14 to play, sealing the three-game swing. Opie also assisted on Ainsworth's 25th score of the season.

After the Stars' weekend in the Show-Me state is over, they'll return to Centre ICE for a standalone game with Motor City on Tuesday, March 15, and wrap the regular season home slate on Friday, March 25 when Port Huron comes calling.

"There's still a lot of work to be done before we can look ahead to anything," Palumbo cautioned. "The season didn't end today. We have a long way to go yet."

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North American Hockey League Stories from March 6, 2011


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