Sports stats

Stars-Rangers series is for the Cup

October 4, 2007 - North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Traverse City North Stars News Release


TRAVERSE CITY - When the Marquette Rangers visit the Traverse City North Stars Centre ICE arena this Saturday night, it will mark the first round in a season-long quest for the Cup between the North American Hockey League North Division rivals. Yes, the Robertson Cup is each NAHL club's ultimate goal, but the Stars and Rangers will be playing for another shiny chalice over the course of their 12-game season series: the Smith-Barney Challenge Cup.

The Smith-Barney Challenge Cup, donated by the company's offices in both Marquette and Traverse City, will be displayed at each game between the clubs, and will be decided on the same point system used in the NAHL standings: 2 points for a win, 1 point for an overtime appearance, 0 points for a loss. The winning team will retain the trophy in the off-season. In the event of a series tie, the trophy will go with the winner of the final game, slated for March 29 in Marquette.

"It adds a little spice to the rivalry, no question," said North Stars head coach/GM Anthony Palumbo. "But it's also illustrative of a collaboration between the clubs. We may go at it on the ice, but we have a great working relationship with their organization. That's important given our clubs' geographic proximity within the league footprint."

"This will greatly enhance what's already become terrific rivalry" said Rangers President and General Manager David Saint- Onge. "A challenge series like this gives one team bragging rights at the end of the year, which we believe will make our games against one another even more enjoyable for the fans and players of both organizations. Since we play one other 12 times during the season, it will also keep the games fresh for all involved, due to the added incentive of winning the trophy."

When the Stars and Rangers lace 'em up on Saturday, both teams will have played road contests the night before, with Traverse City (3-0-3) visiting the U.S. National Team Development Program's Under-17 (6-3-1) squad and Marquette (4-2-0) playing a Friday contest in Alpena (3-2-1).

"It doesn't matter who has bus legs in this division," Palumbo said. "Every night is going to be a dogfight. I think we saw at the showcase that it's possible that the North Division has six of the top 10 teams in the league. We also saw Marquette in Blaine (Minn.) and came away very impressed. They're a very solid club."

The Rangers are led by forward Josh Bussell (4 G-5 A) - who scored a pair of goals and assisted on a third in a 6-4 win over the U-17s last weekend - along with Nic Weight (25 goals in 2006-07), while Nick Condon (7 pts./+3) and Derek Grogan (2 G -3 A) anchor the Marquette blue line. Saturday will also mark the return of former North Stars forward Aaron Pietila. The Brighton product was traded to the Rangers this spring so he could play juniors with his cousin, winger Chad Pietila. Beau Christian (2-0-0, 2.40 GAA) and Matt Brooker (2-2-0, 3.67) return in net this season for Marquette.

"They're a balanced team that can do a lot of things well," Palumbo assessed. "And we all know what the U.S. team's all about. I'd expect nothing less from this weekend than three very tough, very physical games."

The North Stars visit the U-17s on Friday in a 7 p.m. contest before returning to Centre ICE to welcome in Marquette for a Saturday evening affair (7:05 p.m.) and a rare Sunday matinee (1:05 p.m.). All games can be seen via Internet pay-per-view by visiting b2now.com or linking to the web cast at traversecitynorthstars.com.



North American Hockey League Stories from October 4, 2007


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.

Other Recent Traverse City North Stars Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central