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Urbs is spicy for Stars in 5-2 win

March 22, 2009 - North American Hockey League (NAHL)
Traverse City North Stars News Release


TRAVERSE CITY - The Traverse City North Stars completed a sweep of a possible playoff opponent on Saturday night at Centre ICE arena, riding a pair of Nate Urbaniak goals and the continued sterling play of goalsweep C.J. Motte to a 5-2 victory over the U.S. National Team Development Program Under-17s.

Urbaniak (Perrysburg, OH/TC North Stars) scored the game's penultimate goal 4:21 into the third, then closed out the Nationals on a power play marker with 1:38 to play. The North Stars' all-time leading scorer (112 pts.) has six points in his past five outings. Motte (St. Clair, MI/Honeybaked AAA) made 23 saves on Saturday to win his team-record 20th game of the season, and fourth straight start.

Traverse City improved to 32-17-6 but could not make up any ground on second-place Team USA in the NAHL North Division standings, as the USA Under-18 team posted a 3-2 win over Alpena on Saturday. The Stars trail the combined USNTDP by a point.

"They keep winning, we keep winning, but our focus has to stay on continuing to play the kind of hockey that leads to success in the playoffs," said TC head coach/GM Anthony Palumbo. "We had a good, solid and more consistent effort tonight than last night (a 5-4 shootout win). We played aggressively, but played our positions and made good decisions."

Kyle Bonis (Lindsay, ONT/TC North Stars) and Garrett Thompson (Traverse City, MI/TC North Stars) got the host North Stars out to a 2-0 lead by the 1:05 mark of the second period. Bonis' tally was his team-best 30th of the season, while Thompson notched his seventh point of the past four games. Team USA-17 responded with a pair of rapid-fire scores soon thereafter before Marc Thompson (Traverse City, MI/TC North Stars) logged what became the game-winner at 10:17.

Chris Heineman (New Boston, MI/TC North Stars) assisted on Bonis' opening salvo and Urbaniak's finale, Chris Salomone (Homer Glen, IL/ Chicago Young Americans AAA) and Tim Opie (Troy, MI/Wichita Falls NAHL) set up Marc Thompson. Bonis also drew an assist on Urbaniak's second marker.

The North Stars finish off a three-game weekend at Alpena on Sunday with a 3 p.m. matinee. The IceDiggers are coming off a two-game sweep at the Under-18s, but are plenty motivated, being locked in a battle for the fourth and final playoff spot in the North. Alpena trails Marquette by a point, but retains a game in hand on the Rangers.

"We've played two hard games and so have they," Palumbo explained. "We have to go on the road, where we're going to have to be at some point (in the playoffs) anyway. If we want to keep fighting for that second spot and home ice to open the playoffs, we have to win our last three games, all on the road."

The North Stars close out the 2008-09 regular season next weekend at Marquette.

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