Stars stumble in 7-1 setback

Published on March 19, 2010 under North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Traverse City North Stars News Release


TRAVERSE CITY - The Traverse City North Stars picked a bad time to have a down night.

Coming into a crucial three-game series with Marquette in a flat- footed tie with the Rangers for the top spot in the NAHL North Division, the Stars were pelted early and often in a 7-1 loss to their Yooper rivals on Friday at Centre ICE arena.

"They were smarter and tougher, got to every puck, won just about every battle and completely dominated tonight," said TC head coach/ GM Anthony Palumbo. "It was truly a one-sided affair, and if we don't play with a little more urgency the rest of the series and the rest of the (regular) season, we won't experience much success."

The rout got underway 9:41 into the game when Jimmy McCusker roofed the puck, followed by a power play goal from Kevin Gibson - son of former MSU and Detroit Tigers great Kirk Gibson - at 13:06. After Tanner Kero was hauled down on a breakaway, the NAHL's leading goal- scorer converted the subsequent penalty shot 2:38 into the second period for a 3-0 lead. Alec Shields (Pittsburgh, PA/Pittsburgh Predators U18) stickhandled through the Marquette defense for his second goal in as many games at 10:07 of the middle frame, but it was all the offense the hosts could muster on the evening. Nilan Nagy (Canonsburg, PA/Pittsburgh Predators U18) assisted on Shields' third of the year.

Kero bagged his 32nd of the season to close the second stanza, with Josh Bussell, Andrew Kolb, and Tyler Vanscourt each issuing scores in the third. Drew Strandberg (Thunder Bay, ONT/Thunder Bay SIJHL) and Chris Paliafito (Shelbyville, KY/Owatonna NAHL) split time in goal for Traverse City, stopping a combined 21 shots.

The North Stars fell to 29-19-5, while Marquette - which already owns the divisional tiebreaker with more overall wins at 32-20-1 - moved two points ahead of the pack in the North. Third-place Janesville lost a shootout in Springfield on Friday, and is just three points behind Traverse City. All three teams have cinched postseason berths, with five regular season games left to determine the final playoff seeding.

The Stars and Rangers will meet up on Saturday night for Round 2 of the three-game weekend at Centre ICE arena, which concludes at 1 p.m. on Sunday. The setting shifts north of the Mackinaw Bridge on Thursday at Lakeview Arena, before the Stars close out the 2009-10 slate at home on March 26 against the IceDiggers. The regular season finale is March 26 in Alpena.

The first 100 junior high/middle school students will get in for free on Saturday, while season ticketholders can each bring a friend for free to Sunday's matinee.

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North American Hockey League Stories from March 19, 2010


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