Stars Drop Shootout, 5-4
December 12, 2008 - North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Traverse City North Stars News Release
TRAVERSE CITY - The Traverse City North Stars claimed a point in Friday's contest with division rival Alpena, but it still felt like a loss to head coach/GM Anthony Palumbo. The Stars let a 3-1 lead erode, and needed a clutch late goal from captain Kyle Bonis to force overtime before falling 5-4 in a shootout.
"We played well, especially when we were 5-on-5, I don't think there's any doubt about that," said Palumbo, whose team outshot visiting Alpena by a 38-26 margin. "But we struggled to be consistent again, and that's when they took advantage. One thing we did not do well was our face-off coverage. Two of their goals came right off the face-off. We have to improve on that as well."
Alpena banged out a pair of goals in a span of 4:01 in the third period to take a 4-3 lead into the final minutes. Bonis (Lindsay, ONT/TC North Stars) knotted the affair with 2:31 left in regulation, setting up the overtime and subsequent shootout session. It was Bonis' second of the contest and his 10th of the season. Alpena was assessed a two-minute hooking call in the final seconds of the third stanza, and the hosts enjoyed a power play well into the OT.
"We're 4-on-3 and simply did not capitalize," Palumbo lamented. "That was huge, but I have to give their guy (Nick Graves) a lot of credit. He made some big saves at some big times, and that was the difference."
Bonis opened the scoring just 5:22 into the contest, and nearly 10 minutes elapsed before Marc Thompson (Traverse City, MI/TC North Stars) made it 2-0 on the power play. Nate Urbaniak (Perrysburg, OH/ TC North Stars) and Josh Miller (Trenton, MI/Trenton HS) set up Bonis' score, with Dan Radke (Orinda, CA/Soo Indians AAA) and Tyler Stephens (Rockford, MI/TC North Stars) drawing assists on Thompson's seventh lamplighter of the year.
After Alpena sliced its deficit in half late in the first, Garrett Thompson (Traverse City, MI/TC North Stars) opened the second period with a goal from David Johnstone (Grand Ledge, MI/Team nXi AAA) and Marc Thompson. The visitors rattled off the next three goals before Bonis' late equalizer.
Radke was the only Stars skater to connect in the shootout, while Erik Peterson cinched it for Alpena as the fifth and final shooter. Brandon Stephenson (Saline, MI/TC North Stars) made 21 saves for Traverse City.
"Our penalty-killing unit was pretty solid, but we also took some bad penalties as well," added Palumbo, whose PK unit is third in the league at 89.8%. "There were some dry stretches here and there but for the most part we played a good game."
TC (15-5-4) fell into a first-place tie with Mahoning Valley, which scored a 2-1 win over the USA-17s on Friday. The North Stars and IceDiggers sew up their two-game set on Saturday night at Centre ICE arena. Face-off is set for 7 p.m.
North American Hockey League Stories from December 12, 2008
- Stars Drop Shootout, 5-4 - Traverse City North Stars
- Phantoms Lock Down Team USA, Win 2-1 - Mahoning Valley Phantoms
- Rangers Derail Machine - Marquette Rangers
- U.S. Nat'l U17 Team Falls to Mahoning Valley, 2-1 - U.S. National Team
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