Stars Drop Scorefest, 8-5
November 30, 2008 - North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Traverse City North Stars News Release
BOARDMAN, OH. - The Traverse City North Stars let a 2-0 lead slip away on Sunday in the final installment of the NAHL North Division Showcase in suburban Youngstown, falling to St. Louis in an 8-5 scorefest at the IceZone.
"We're up two goals - we outshot them, outplayed them and were cruising along," said Stars head coach/GM Anthony Palumbo. "Then we went out there and forgot all about playing defense. Everybody wanted to get on the scoresheet and just about everyone shirked their (defensive) responsibilities to get involved. We gave up some good chances to them, they get back in it, and we come out of there with a loss that we truly deserved."
Kyle Jean (Sault Ste. Marie, MI/TC North Stars) notched both first- period goals for Traverse City, including a power play marker with 8:04 to play in the opening period. But the Bandits wasted little time evening things up, scoring 15 seconds into the second stanza and again less than three minutes later. Eric McLintock (Traverse City, MI/TC North Stars) gave the North Stars the lead again at 7:42, and after a St. Louis power play tied it once more, Josh Miller (Trenton, MI/Trenton HS) potted his fourth goal in five games to give TC a 4-3 edge at the second intermission.
The Bandits' blitzkrieg put the contest out of reach over an eight- minute span to open the final period, as Traverse City surrendered a quartet of goals, the final by former North Stars forward Clinton Bourbonais. Chris Salomone (Homer Glen, IL/Chicago Young Americans AAA) pulled the Stars to within 7-5, but an empty-netter in the waning seconds made it a three-goal final margin.
"Hockey games last at least 60 minutes, and we haven't played a full game in ... way too long," Palumbo fumed. "I have to call our Showcase weekend a failure. We came out with three out of six (points) instead of five out of six. That's not acceptable."
Brandon Stephenson (Saline, MI/TC North Stars) conceded a career-high seven goals, suffering just his first regulation loss since Sept. 26 and falling to 7-2-2 this season. He stopped 23 of 30 shots.
"It wasn't just Brandon, it was everybody - everybody shared in this loss," Palumbo reiterated. "It was like an offensive feeding frenzy with everybody playing that end of the ice. Everybody wanted to get their points, and they got âem. We scored five times. Unfortunately, they scored eight."
Kyle Bonis (Lindsay, ONT/TC North Stars) recorded the second âplaymaker' (three assists) of his career on Sunday, while defenseman Bo Jacobs (Twin Lake, MI/SOO Indians AAA) dealt a pair of assists. In all, nine players recorded points.
The North Stars - now 14-4-3 and a point ahead of second-place Mahoning Valley entering Sunday night's Phantoms-Motor City contest - return to northern Michigan next weekend, facing Alpena in a home-and-home series. The Stars and Diggers will open on Friday at Northern Lights Arena, with the set returning to Centre ICE on Saturday for a 7 p.m. face-off.
North American Hockey League Stories from November 30, 2008
- Motor City Shut Out by Alpena, 1-0 - Motor City Metal Jackets
- Friedman Nets a Pair as Motor City Disrupts Bandits, 5-3 - Motor City Metal Jackets
- Phantoms Rally Past Machine, Into First Place - Mahoning Valley Phantoms
- U.S. Nat'l U18 Team Blanks Manhattanville, 2-0 - U.S. National Team
- Stars Drop Scorefest, 8-5 - Traverse City North Stars
- Jr. Blues Rally to Beat Owatonna 6-4; Take Three of Possible Four Points On The Road - Springfield Jr. Blues
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