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Stars fell first-place Falcons

December 2, 2011 - North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Traverse City North Stars News Release


TRAVERSE CITY - A second-period eruption, a strong penalty kill, and a balanced attack proved to be a winning recipe for the Traverse City North Stars on Friday evening at Centre ICE Arena, as the Stars skated to a 4-2 triumph over first-place Port Huron.

Traverse City improved to 12-5-4 with the victory, and is 7-1-1 over its last nine games - including a 3-1-1 mark against the front-running Fighting Falcons.

"We got traffic in front of their net, killed a lot of penalties, and beat the best team in the division," Stars head coach Chad Fournier said. "We're all trying to catch them (in the north division standings), so you have to consider this a good win."

The hosts potted all four of their tallies in a breakneck second period, beginning with an unassisted swindle-and-score from defenseman Kyle Froese (Traverse City, MI/TC Central HS) at the 6:05 mark. Port Huron (18-10-2) quickly responded - a mere 38 seconds later - to even the score, but Kyle Schempp (Saginaw, MI/Compuware U18/Ferris State) made it 2-1 affair at 10:32 and the North Stars would lead the rest of the way.

Kyle Loridon (Howell, MI/Lansing Capitals U18) was the recipient of a Chris Leibinger (Saginaw, MI/TC North Stars NAHL/Michigan Tech) dash-and-dish, banging home a cross-ice pass from the latter less than two minutes later for a 3-1 advantage, and Will Badner (Cadillac, MI/Motor City NAHL) converted a power play with 2:50 left in the period for a 4-2 lead that would hold up through a scoreless final frame.

Leibinger assisted on Traverse City's final two goals, Dean Burggrabe (Marquette, MI/Compuware U18) and Sean Murphy (Cary, NC/Tri-City USHL) set up Schempp, and Jake Peacock (Traverse City, MI/GT Bay Reps HS) was credited with an assist on the Loridan marker. North Stars captain Jared Van Wormer (Traverse City, MI/TC North Stars NAHL) assisted on Badner's team-leading 10th goal of the season.

Kyle Laslo (Fenton, MI/Osoyoos KIJHL) worked the pipes once again for Traverse City, stopping 31 shots, including 14 in the third period. Laslo's highlight-reel paddle save in the second period thwarted a Port Huron breakaway chance. In all, TC rebuked all seven Port Huron power plays, including a brief 5-on-3 early in the third.

The Stars will welcome Kalamazoo to Centre ICE on Saturday evening for the expansion Jr. K-Wings' first-ever visit to Traverse City. The Wings are 16-9-1 after a 2-1 victory at Michigan on Friday, five points behind Port Huron in the North Division table.

"It'll be kind of nice to get to play someone different," Fournier conceded. "I mean, we've played Port Huron eight times in our first 21 games. We have to take care of the puck and limit our turnovers, because Kalamazoo has some talented players that can really capitalize. It'll be another tough game."

After this weekend's variety-pack series, the Stars will play host to Michigan at Centre ICE on Dec. 9 for the annual Holiday Teddy Toss game. The first 40 kids (12 & under) will receive a special commemorative North Stars teddy bear to throw onto the ice during the event. Fans are invited to bring their own teddy bears as well; Bears will be collected and distributed to area kids through The Father Fred Foundation, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, Munson pediatrics, and area child family service agencies.

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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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