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Tardy tallies save Stars sweep

February 1, 2009 - North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Traverse City North Stars News Release


TRAVERSE CITY - For almost 55 minutes on Saturday night at Centre ICE arena, the Traverse City North Stars could not find the back of the net, through multiple crease-sharking sessions, a protracted 5- on-3 advantage, and five power plays. However, the subsequent 3:40 was all it took to give the Stars a 2-1 win, a sixth consecutive triumph, a weekend sweep of Motor City, and a victorious valediction as the team embarks on a three-week road swing.

Training 1-0 for much of the contest, Kyle Bonis (Lindsay, ONT/TC North Stars) put the host North Stars on equal footing at 14:56 of the third period, and Marc Thompson (Traverse City, MI/TC North Stars) delivered the deathblow with 1:24 to play - Thompson's 10th goal - and fourth game-winner - of the season.

"We got flat-out outworked in that first period," Traverse City head coach/GM Anthony Palumbo said. "And we have to give them credit because Motor City played very well and we didn't seem ready for that. In the second (period) we started to take control, but couldn't get it past their goalie (Joe Moore). We just stuck with it, to our credit, and found a way to win it."

Brandon Stephenson (Saline, MI/TC North Stars) got his first start since Jan. 9 and made the most of his return to the pipes, stopping 21 shots and keeping the Stars in the contest through the club's extended scoring scarcity. He improved to 11-5-3 and whittled his goals-against average to 2.72.

"Brandon made the key saves at the key times, and none was bigger than the one he made with about 12 or 13 seconds left (in the game)," explained Palumbo. "He made a few nice stops in the first period, too. To come back after five games and perform like that was juts huge, and we really needed him tonight to keep us in it until we could get our offense converting."

Thompson and Nate Urbaniak (Perrysburg, OH/TC North Stars) drew assists on Bonis' team-best 22nd goal of the season, while Thompson's sealant was unassisted.

Despite the string of victories, the Stars - who set a team mark for wins with their 24th on Saturday - remain a pair of points behind Mahoning Valley, who mashed Alpena by a 9-2 count, in the NAHL North Division. TC (24-9-5) will visit Mahoning for a titanic three-game sequence next weekend.

"We play a lot of road games down the stretch, and it's important for us to get it started on the right foot by playing well down there," said Palumbo, whose team takes to the freeways for all but four of the remaining 20 regular season games. "They're coming off a big weekend against Alpena, and they're playing very good hockey right now. We'll have to be ready to play our best hockey of the year."

The North Stars will play at the Youngstown-area Phantoms (26-10-3) on Friday and Saturday evenings before wrapping with a Sunday matinee at the Boardman IceZone.

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 February 1, 2009


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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