Stars Sweep Marquette, Regain North

Published on December 29, 2009 under North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Traverse City North Stars News Release


TRAVERSE CITY - Not even an impromptu pre-game shower could cool off the Traverse City North Stars on Tuesday afternoon.

An errant soccer ball struck a fire safety sprinkler during a warm-up exercise, setting off an indoor deluge that soaked players and seeped into the Traverse City dressing room below. The mishap could not dampen the Stars' spirits, however, as the hosts skated to a 3-2 victory over Marquette in the finale of a two-game weekday series. Traverse City claimed the opener (7-4) on Monday, and have reclaimed first place in the NAHL North Division.

Doug Clifford (Woodhaven, MI/Mahoning Valley NAHL), who had a hand in three goals during Monday's rout, dished out a pair of assists on Tuesday, and now has 10 points over his last six contests. Garrett Thompson (Traverse City, MI/TC North Stars) recorded his ninth goal of the season on Tuesday, and has five points in his last three outings.

"Once again, we had a lot of guys step up and contribute today," said Stars head coach/GM Anthony Palumbo, whose team improved to 18-11-2 and into sole possession of the North Division perch. "And we only gave up two goals instead of four. That's sort of the magic number - if you give up more than two goals, you are far less likely to be successful. Ideally, you'd like to give up fewer than two, but if you can keep it to two you'll win some games."

As they did on Monday, the host Stars scored the game's first two goals, with Nick Shkreli (Romeo, MI/Mahoning Valley NAHL) redirecting a Clifford dart at 10:14 with TC on the power play, and Sean Burke (Traverse City, MI/TC North Stars) potting his eighth of the season less than three minutes later. Dan Radke (Orinda, CA/TC North Stars/ Lake Superior St.) drew an assist on Shkreli's seventh of the year, while Nilan Nagy (Canonsburg, PA/Pittsburgh Preds U18) facilitated Burke's marker.

After a late first period Rangers power play tally cut the deficit in half, Thompson levied what became the game-winner - his second of 2009 - a mere 4:25 into the middle frame. Clifford and Curtis Heinz (Grand Rapids, MI/Wichita Falls NAHL) assisted. The teams traded scoring chances until Marquette connected on a long-range lamplighter with 3:56 to play to make the final moments more interesting.

Drew Strandberg (Thunder Bay, ONT/Thunder Bay SIJHL) improved to 13-6-1, stopping 23 of 25 shots while whittling his goals-against average to 2.65.

"We came into the series hoping to play well against the top team in the division, and we came away feeling like we had," Palumbo added. "Yeah, we got the four points, but every bit as important as that, I think we got back on track in a lot of ways. We hit a little bit of a lull there, and I'd hope that this series was a sign that we're coming out of it and getting back to doing the things that helped us win some games earlier in the season."

The news wasn't all rosy on Tuesday, as Stars All-North forward Kyle Jean (Sault Ste. Marie, MI/TC North Stars/Lake Superior St.) succumbed to illness and was a late scratch. His availability for Thursday's contest is in doubt. Additionally, Clifford parted with some teeth during a second period collision, but did not miss a shift.

The North Stars visit Alpena on Thursday for a fourth straight New Year's Eve tilt at Northern Lights Arena. Traverse City is 1-1-1 in the previous three such matchups, falling 5-4 in 2006, 3-2 in a shootout the following year, and claiming a 6-3 triumph last year. The Stars and IceDiggers will get under way at 7 p.m.

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North American Hockey League Stories from December 29, 2009


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