Stars Take Another from Jamestown, 3-1

Published on March 16, 2012 under North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Traverse City North Stars News Release


TRAVERSE CITY - Jared Van Wormer got it started, and Will Badner put a cap on it, lifting the Traverse City North Stars to a 3-1 victory on Friday in the second leg of a three-game series at Centre ICE Arena.

Van Wormer (Traverse City, MI/TC North Stars NAHL) scored 5:08 into the contest, Eric Rivard (Traverse City, MI/TC North Stars NAHL) broke a 1-all tie with 3:16 left in the second period, and Badner (Cadillac, MI/Motor City NAHL) sealed it with five minutes to play on a point-blank one-timer that gave the North Stars their 30th victory of the season.

The win moves Traverse City (30-18-6) to within four points of idle second-place Kalamazoo in the NAHL North Division standings, and sets up an exciting stretch drive as the Stars try to chase down the final home-ice playoff slot.

"Another hard-working victory, although it wasn't altogether 'pretty' at times," said Traverse City head coach Chad Fournier. "But now it feels like we have a chance to catch Kalamazoo, even though we'll need some help to do it. At least we're within hailing distance anyway."

Kyle Laslo (Fenton, MI/Osoyoos KIJHL) surrendered just a single goal for the second night in a row - the Stars won the series opener 4-1 on Thursday - and drew praise from Fournier again.

"Kyle was strong again tonight," he added. "He saw a lot of shots (32) and stood tall even when we weren't at our best in front of him. We know we have to keep tightening things up in our own zone, but when we weren't at our best, or when we turned the puck over, Kyle was right there for us."

For the second night in a row, Kyle Schempp (Saginaw, MI/Compuware U18/Ferris State) dispensed a pair of assists, setting up the Stars' final two tallies, while both Van Wormer and Badner added one each. Lance Fredrickson (Spring Lake, MI/Muskegon USHL/Miami, OH) kicked in with his first two-assist night in 13 games since becoming a North Star.

The same two teams will lace 'em up again in Saturday's St. Patty's Day series finale, which faces off at 7:05 p.m. - with a family post-game skate following the affair.

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North American Hockey League Stories from March 16, 2012


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