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Stars suffer the Blues, 5-2

October 15, 2010 - North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Traverse City North Stars News Release


TRAVERSE CITY - The Springfield Jr. Blues started fast, finished strong, and were too much for the host Traverse City North Stars on Friday at Centre ICE Arena, collecting a 5-2 victory in the Stars' 2010-11 home opener.

Springfield, which has won seven of its last nine games since an 0-6 start, got a trio of first period goals, rebuffed a Traverse City rally in the second half of the contest, and added an empty-netter in the waning minutes to come away with a three-goal triumph.

"You certainly can't spot a good team a 3-0 lead and expect to just turn it on from there," assessed Traverse City head coach/GM Anthony Palumbo. "And we have to figure out play with more fire. We didn't have enough fire or desire tonight. We have some young guys, and we played like a young team tonight."

After the North Stars (6-2) were handed a 3-0 deficit just 10:15 in, they began to climb back into the affair, netting a Ryan Amin (Canton, MI/TC North Stars) goal - his team-best seventh of the year - 4:33 into the second period. Taylor Burden (Carmel, IN/TC North Stars) and Trevor Campbell (Kansas City, MO/TC North Stars) set up Amin's roof job. Traverse City outshot the visitors by a 10-5 margin in the middle frame, riding the momentum of a decisive Steve Behm (Grand Rapids, MI/Texas NAHL) victory in a heavyweight donnybrook with Blues forward Shayne McLaughlin.

Behm then cut the deficit in half with a top-shelf snipe a mere 2:35 into the final stanza, swiping the puck from a Springfield player and wristing it into the twine. The Blues regained their two-goal advantage midway through the period, and NAHL top gun Ethan Nauman sealed it with an empty net marker with 1:14 left.

"As a younger team, a lot of guys are being asked to take on bigger roles," Palumbo explained. "And we're still trying to figure out what kind of team we are. Last year, we kind of knew who would play what roles. Now, we're still trying to fit the right pieces together."

Tyler Marble (Howell, MI/TC North Stars/Lake Superior State) and Brennan Knoblock (Macomb, MI/Pickering OJHL) split time in goal for the North Stars, combining for 20 saves in 24 chances.

The team will meet again on Saturday evening at Centre ICE, in the second annual ‘Turn the Rink Pink' contest. Fans who wear pink in honor of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month will get a ticket discount, the North Stars will sport new pink jerseys that will be up for auction (along with other items), and proceeds will benefit the American Cancer Society. Game time is slated for 7 p.m. The series will wrap on Sunday with a 1 p.m. matinee.

We thank you, our media partners, for your continued interest in Traverse City North Stars hockey. If there is anything we can do to help facilitate any aspect of your coverage, please do not hesitate to contact us. You are a valued component of North Stars hockey.

For more information, call Lance-Michael Correia at (231) 632-5047, the Traverse City North Stars office at (231) 941-9200 or visit the team's Web site at: www.traversecitynorthstars.com.



North American Hockey League Stories from October 15, 2010


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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