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Stars Drop Lead, Shootout to Aberdeen

September 16, 2011 - North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Traverse City North Stars News Release


BLAINE, Minn. - In their bid to start the 2011-12 season 3-0, the Traverse City North Stars let a 3-0 lead slip away in the latter stages of Friday's NAHL Showcase, eventually falling to Aberdeen by a 5-4 count in a shootout.

Two Titans and a Trojan led the way for the Stars (2-0-1), as former TC West High star Eric Rivard (Traverse City, MI/TC North Stars NAHL) bagged the first two goals of the contest - swiping a pass and breaking the seal with the game's first goal just 33 ticks into the second period, then cleaning up a loose puck near the crease to double the Stars' bulge. Former TC Central High School stalwart Jared Van Wormer (Traverse City, MI/TC North Stars NAHL) made it 3-0 with 2:49 to play in the frame before Aberdeen began to mount a comeback. Ex-Titan Mitchell Snider (Traverse City, MI/TC North Stars NAHL) dished out a pair of assists.

"We had a real good first half of the game and then we stopped working," lamented Stars head coach Chad Fournier. "We got pretty comfortable with that lead, and it didn't help that we put ourselves in a lot of shorthanded situations, especially in the third (period). I will give credit to the guys for coming back to force overtime, because we could have just quit when they took the lead."

The Wings cut the deficit to 3-1 with a late second-period goal, then followed with three unanswered tallies in a span of 3:39 in the third to grab a one-goal advantage. Chris Waterstreet (Novi, MI/TC North Stars NAHL) saved a point for Traverse City when he knotted the contest at 4-all with 4:33 remaining in regulation. The North Stars enjoyed a late power play that spilled into the overtime period, but could not capitalize on the opportunity. Wings goalie Marcus Zelser robbed a clinching bid by TC defenseman Nathan Harris (Fowlerville, MI/Lansing Capitals U18) with a jaw-dropping glove save midway through OT.

In the shootout session, Aberdeen's Ryan Doner converted in the first round, but no one else could find the back of the net and the Wings skated off with the extra point. Kyle Schempp (Saginaw, MI/Compuware U18) rifled a shot toward the top left corner in the second round, but the shot whistled past Zelser and deflected off the post.

"We learned - the hard way - that it's a 60-minute game," Fournier added. "It's not 30 and it's not 40. It's an important lesson to learn. We had some setbacks today, but we saw a lot of good things too."

The contest featured the NAHL debuts of a trio of Traverse City natives - TC Central products Kyle Froese and Eric Jones, and TC West's Frank Gilbert. Kyle Laslo (Fenton, MI/Osoyoos KIJHL) made his third straight start in net for the Stars, stopping a season-high 30 shots.

Traverse City will close the book on its NAHL Showcase run on Saturday, facing former North Division rival Springfield in an early- morning affair. Face-off is slated for 10:30 a.m. ET.

"The theme is the same - to keep improving each time out," Fournier concluded. "That means we have to be better tomorrow than we were today."

MINNIE MANIA

WHAT: NAHL Showcase

WHERE: Schwan Super Rink - Blaine, Mn.

WHO: All 28 NAHL teams

WATCH IT: Click the FastHockey link at traversecitynorthstars.com

WEDNESDAY: Traverse City 4, Texas 1

THURSDAY: Traverse City 3, Odessa 2 SO

FRIDAY: vs. Aberdeen 5, Traverse City 4 SO

SATURDAY: vs. Springfield, 10:30 a.m. ET



North American Hockey League Stories from September 16, 2011


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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