Black Bears end regular season with loss

The Northern Michigan Black Bears ended their NOJHL regular season Saturday night with a 4-1 loss on the road in Blind River. Northern Michigan had beaten the Soo Thunderbirds by the same score last Wednesday.

Saturday, Anthony Perdicaro staked the Bears to an early 1-0 lead, but the Beavers rattled off four unanswered goals for the victory.

Elliot Hogue made 45 saves for Northern Michigan, who finished 27-15-6, good for fourth place.

The Black Bears now host Blind River in a best-of-seven playoff matchup that gets underway Tuesday at Big Bear Arena.

IceDiggers downed in Ann Arbor Sunday

After dropping the first two games of their three game weekend series with the Alpena IceDiggers, the U.S. National Under-17 Team rebounded Sunday afternoon to defeat Alpena, 6-1, at the Ann Arbor Ice Cube. The win keeps the National Team in first place in the North American Hockey League’s North Division and moves Team USA just four points away from clinching the division title.

Team USA forward James vanRiemsdyk opened the scoring with a beautiful backhand goal setup by Philip McRae. The goal, along with defense, gave Team USA a 1-0 lead after the first period of play.

At 4:25 of the second period, McRae added a power-play goal as he beat Alpena goaltender Peter O’Hara with a slap shot from the top of the right circle. Joseph Lavin and vanRiemsdyk added assists on the goal. Team USA took control of the game when Justin Vaive and vanRiemsdyk added tallies just 57 seconds apart to put the National Team ahead 4-0 at the 12:57 mark of the period. Ryan Hayes added his first goal of the game, and 30th of the season, on a picture-perfect pass from Ian Cole at 15:54 of the period to put Team USA ahead 5-0 heading into the third.

In the third period, Steve Culbertson put Alpena on the board 4:16 into the frame. Team USA responded with a tally from Greg Squires. The goal, which was set up by Nigel Williams and vanRiemsdyk, capped the day’s scoring and put Team USA ahead.,6-1.

Strong defensive play from Team USA limited Alpena to just 14 shots on the day, compared to 38 for the U.S. Brad Phillips was strong in goal for Team USA stopping 13 of the 14 shots he faced. O'Hara made 32 saves for Alpena.

The U.S. National Under-17 Team travels to face the Cleveland Barons for a pair of games Mar. 18-19. The IceDiggers are in Mahoning Valley this Friday and Saturday.

Whalers beat Greyhounds in Sunday shootout

The Plymouth Whalers have won three games this season in a shootout and in each win, rookie Chris Terry has provided the winning goal. He scored the only goal in a shootout (pictured above) Sunday afternoon as the Whalers (33-27-1-4) moved back into sole possession of first place in the OHL West Division with a 4-3 win over the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds.

Plymouth goaltender Justin Peters stopped 26 of 29 Sault Ste. Marie shots through 65 minutes, then stopped Cody Thornton, Ryan Kitchen and Scott Restoule in the shootout. Before the shootout, Jared Boll scored twice for the Whalers and James Neal scored the other goal.

Sault Ste. Marie goaltender Kyle Gajewski stopped 39 of 42 Plymouth shots through 65 minutes and stopped Andrew Fournier during the shootout.

First-place Plymouth and second-place Saginaw will play twice now in the final week of the OHL’s regular season, meeting Wednesday night in Saginaw and then Saturday night at the Compuware Sports Arena. In between, Plymouth plays in Sarnia Friday night and Saginaw plays in Sault Ste. Marie Friday.

Photo by Walt Dmoch.

Saginaw beats Sarnia, falls to Windsor

The Saginaw Spirit completed a three-game weekend Sunday afternoon with a 2-1 loss to the Windsor Spitfires.

Michal Birner tied the game with a shorthanded goal at 8:45 in the second period, making the game 1-1. Saginaw netminder Francois Thuot had 30 saves in the loss. Saginaw's record moves to 34-30-1-0 for 69 points. Saginaw is in second place in the OHL West Division, two points behind the first-place Plymouth Whalers. The Spitfires are in third place with 66 points, followed closely by the fourth-place Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds with 64 points.

Saturday, Ryan Daniels made 25 saves as the Spirit beat the Sarnia Sting, 6-2. Jack Combs, Birner, Ryan McDonough, Zack Torquato, Tim Priamo and Garrett Sinfield all scored in the win.

The Spirit faceoff against the Whalers for the last home game of the regular season Wednesday. It's fan appreciation night, with the annual game-worn jersey auction and a special guest appearance from hockey legend and former Detroit Red Wings' star Igor Larionov.

Whalers still in first, defeat Otters Friday

Chris Terry’s goal at 8:45 of the third period snapped at 3-3 tie and the first-place Plymouth Whalers came from behind to defeat the Erie Otters, 5-3, Friday night before 3,927 at the Tullio Arena in Erie.

Terry’s goal gave Plymouth their first lead of the evening. The Whalers came from behind three different times, tying the game at 1-1, 2-2 and 3-3 before taking the lead for good.

Besides Terry (pictured above), Joe Gaynor, Evan Brophey, Jared Boll and Andrew Fournier scored for Plymouth. John Armstrong and James Neal added two assists apiece for the Whalers.

Justin Peters made 27 saves for the win in goal.

Plymouth’s victory over Erie eliminates the Otters from the OHL’s Western Conference playoff race.

Plymouth hosts Sault Ste. Marie on Sunday at 2:00 p.m. The Whalers have three games remaining in the regular season after Sunday’s game. The Whalers play in Saginaw next Wednesday and in Sarnia next Friday before hosting Saginaw on March 18.

Terry photo by Walt Dmoch.

Saginaw downs Sarnia, 5-2

The playoff bound Saginaw Spirit downed the Sarnia Sting Friday night in Sarnia, taking their record to 33-29-1-0 for 67 points.

Michal Birner earned the first star of the game with three assists and Ryan McDonough earned the second star of the game with two goals.

Spirit captain Patrick McNeill started the game in Saginaw’s favor with a power-play goal at 4:16 in the first period. Tom Pyatt and Birner assisted on McNeill’s 21st goal of the season.

Eight seconds into the second period, McDonough shot the puck past Sting netminder and former Plymouth Whaler Ryan Nie. Birner and Ryan Berard assisted. McDonough came back and scored again at 2:30 in the second with an assist from Birner and defenseman Garrett Sinfield.

Patrick Asselin made the game 4-0 with a shorthanded goal at 6:22 in the second off a feed from Vaclav Meidl, another former Whaler.

Sarnia reduced the Spirit’s lead to 4-1 when Sting defenseman Tyson Aitcheson scored at 16:53 in the second period.

The third period started with a Sarnia goal when Ryan McInerney got the puck past Spirit goalie Francois Thuot. The game remained 4-2 late into the third period until Tyson Gimblett put the puck into an empty Sarnia net at 19:42. Zack Torquato and Thuot earned assists on Gimblett’s goal.

Thuot had 35 saves in the Saginaw win.

The OHL West remains a hotly contested Division with Saginaw in second place with 67 points, the Whalers are in first place with 69 points and the Windsor Spitfires are in third place with 64 points. Saginaw is currently in sixth place in the OHL Western Conference.

IceDiggers edge USA Under-17's, 3-2

With the Alpena IceDiggers wearing special-event St. Patrick's Day jerseys last night, they had the luck of the Irish on their side in front of 680 fans at Northern Lights Arena and beat the U.S. Under-17 Team, 3-2.

Matt Suggs scored the game winning goal late in the second period while Justin Stadler and Ben Kitzmiller (pictured) contributed a goal apiece in the victory.

Peter O'Hara picked up his second consecutive win between the pipes for Alpena making 31 saves.

The IceDiggers went 1-for-2 on the power play while the visitors went 1-for-3.

The race for the final playoff spot in the North Division tightens up even more as the IceDiggers trail their cross-state rival Traverse City North Stars by nine points. Alpena also has three games in hand.

Alpena returns to action on Saturday at home to take on the same Team USA Under-17 squad. Both teams will then head to Ann Arbor on Sunday for a 3:00 p.m. face off at the Ann Arbor Ice Cube.

Whalers upended in Windsor Thursday

Bryan Bickell scored two goals and two assists, while Cal O’Reilly contributed a goal and three assists and Paul McFarland two goals and an assist as the Windsor Spitfires overcame an early 2-0 first period deficit to defeat the Plymouth Whalers, 8-5, Thursday night at Windsor Arena.

Peter Aston, Brian Soso and Ryan Garlock, all scored single goals for Windsor.

Andrew Fournier lead the Whalers attack with his first-ever hat trick and now has 20 goals on the season. Wes Cunningham (pictured) scored his third goal of the year and John Armstrong his 13th of the season for Plymouth.

The race for first place in the OHL West Division tightens up even more. In spite of the loss, Plymouth remains in first place with a record of 31-27-1-4, Saginaw is second at 32-29-1-0, Windsor is now 29-28-3-3 and Sault Ste. Marie, who won Thursday night in Sarnia, is now 28-29-3-4.

Justin Peters and Justin Garay combined for 31 saves for the Whalers.

Plymouth remains on the road Friday night in Erie before returning home Sunday at 2:00 p.m. to face Sault Ste. Marie.

Photo by Walt Dmoch.

North Stars tender two for '06-07

Even with the regular season kettle on the boil, and the playoff chase set to percolate, the Traverse City North Stars are busy making preparations for the 2006-07 campaign and beyond.

The latest supplements to the North Stars future were secured this week, when the club inked a pair of players to tenders. Forward Zach Hitch, a junior at Brighton High School, and Cleveland Barons midget-AAA goaltender Stefan Shively, agreed to ply their respective trades in Traverse City next season.

“These are some great additions,” said North Stars head coach/GM Scott Gardiner. “With Zach, you have a skill player – a guy who can play in all three zones. And Stefan is somebody we’re very high on, too. He’s a terrific stand-up goalie.”

Shively wowed coaches last summer with his showing during a Stars tryout camp at Centre ICE arena. Gardiner and TC associate coach Mike Stapleton wanted him to get more playing time at midget majors, but kept an eye on his progress during the season.

“Stefan almost made the team last year,” Gardiner admitted. “I mean, he was right there with Ryan (Donovan) and Jeremy (Kaleniecki). I had him rated among the top three (junior-eligible) goalies that I saw this year.”

Shively was undeterred by his North Stars deferral, and has performed well for Cleveland of the Midwest Elite Hockey League, posting a 4-5-2 record with a 2.64 goals-against average in 11 starts for the Barons. Among his victory total were a pair of shutouts – 2-0 over the Soo Indians and 6-0 against Little Caesars.

“When I tried out up there last year, I just fell in love with the place,” said Shively. “The surroundings are beautiful, and we were treated so well. Even though I didn’t make the club, the coaches still kept in contact with me.”

Hitch is still putting the finishing touches on a dream season at Brighton, leading the Bulldogs to a fifth straight Kensington Valley Conference crown, and into Friday’s Division 1 state semifinal against Marquette. So far in 2005-06, Hitch has racked up 27 goals and assisted on 27 others in 28 outings for Brighton (25-1-2). The 54-point output is the eighth-best year in Bulldogs history.

“He’s a good-sized kid with real speed,” Gardiner assessed. “And he’s a hard-working kid, too. I can already see line combinations, and players who compliment each other, and I like it.”

Hitch, whose brother Ryan played junior hockey in Traverse City under the banner of the since-defunct Continental Elite Hockey League, says he’s excited about the opportunity to play by the bay.

“It’s a great atmosphere up there, a great place to play,” said the high school junior. “I hope I can bring something to the table. I’m a power forward, and I try to score goals. Some are pretty, some are garbage.”

While signing a tender agreement with a junior team doesn’t guarantee a roster spot, North American Hockey League clubs are afforded but 10 tenders each season to secure players’ rights, meaning that coaches and scouts think pretty highly of a prospect if they apply such a designation. All players – even current North Stars – participate in summer camps.

“It’s a measuring stick for younger guys,” Gardiner explained. “And now we have some veterans to measure the younger guys against. That’s something that’s a pretty important part of the process, and we didn’t have that last summer.”

The North Stars have scheduled tryout camps for May 18-21 at Centre ICE, a June 1-4 camp at Compuware Arena in Plymouth, and the invite-only training camp back in Traverse City from Aug. 4-6. Last year’s training camp finale Blue-White game drew almost 700 hockey-starved fans to Centre ICE arena.

IceDiggers' 'Tip the Team' a success

19th Hole owner Bill Peterson, IceDiggers director of marketing Michelle McEwen and IceDiggers captain Nolan Craner present a scholarship check to AHA board members Pete Cross and Matt Waligora last Sunday

Last Thursday, the Alpena IceDiggers participated in the first Annual "Tip-The-Team" Night at the 19th Hole in Alpena to benefit the Alpena Hockey Association (AHA) and their youth hockey program.

All "tips" that were received by the IceDiggers, as well as the 19th Hole wait staff, were donated to the AHA for use in scholarships for the youth hockey program.

"What a fun night it was," Alpena coach-GM Kenny Miller stated. "The guys enjoyed themselves and it truly feels good that we are going to be able to give some of the Alpena youth a chance to participate in the hockey program in the fall."

With the Diggers donating their tips, 19th Hole owner Bill Peterson also donated 10 percent of the evenings proceeds to the scholarship fund as well. A check for $664.88 was presented to AHA president Matt Waligora and vice president Pete Cross by Peterson, IceDiggers' captain Nolan Craner and IceDiggers' director of marketing Michelle McEwen at last Sunday's game versus Traverse City. The afternoon proved to be successful for all of Alpena hockey as the IceDiggers were victorious in a 4-2 win over the North Stars.

The IceDiggers return to Northern Lights Arena this Friday and Saturday night when they host the U.S. Under-17 team at 7:00 p.m. both nights.

Pisellini's punch lands Todd on sidelines

Jim Parker, Windsor Star
Tuesday, March 7, 2006

Scott Todd was trying to spark his teammates.

The six-foot-five, 223-pound defenceman for the Windsor Spitfires had done it dozens of times before by dropping the gloves to battle the opposition's heavyweight.

"What better way to get your team going," Todd said.

Four seconds into Saturday's game in Plymouth, Todd and Whalers heavyweight Gino Pisellini dropped the gloves. Todd, 19, got in a heavy right and two other shots before a Pisellini right exploded in his face.

"You know there's always a chance you can get hurt, but you never plan for it," Todd said.

He ended up in the hospital and today will undergo surgery to repair his cheek bone, which was broken in two places.

"The orbital bone is pushed in and under the eye," Todd said Monday. "They have to pull it out where it was before. "Then, I'll get two plates and they'll build my cheek back up to where it was."

The Kingston (Ont.) native will be out of action between four and five weeks, which might cost him the rest of the season.

"I'm hoping to be back in four," Todd said. "I asked the doctor (Monday) if there was any (long-term) damage. He said as long I give it proper time to heal I'd be fine."

When he gets back, Todd said he won't hesitate to drop the gloves again.

"I'm not worried about it," he said.

For Todd, it's the way the game has to be played. It's what got him drafted into the Ontario Hockey League and subsequently caught the attention of the NHL's Nashville Predators, who drafted him last year.

"I know that's the way I'm probably going to get (to the NHL), so I still have to do it," said Todd, who has 410 penalty minutes in 145 career OHL games.

He became an instant fan favourite last season when the Spitfires acquired him from Oshawa. In his first game, his fight with Brody Todd buckled the Ottawa forward and put him out of action for three weeks with a concussion.

HISTORY OF SURGERY

By the same token, this isn't the first time Pisellini has sent Todd in for surgery. A fight last year broke Todd's nose and forced him to undergo surgery.

"It's all right," Todd said. "Some say it's brutal and some say it's fun."

And down the road, it's something Todd will engage in again.

"You just put it in the back of your mind," Todd said.

Photo courtesy of the Windsor Star.

Plymouth blanked in Sault Ste. Marie

Dustin Jeffrey's power-play goal at 4:27 of the second period stood as the game-winner and goaltender Kyle Gajewski stopped 32 Plymouth shots to backstop the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds to a 1-0 victory over the Plymouth Whalers Sunday night at the Sault Memorial Gardens.

Justin Peters stopped 34 shots for the Whalers.

Plymouth remains in first place in the OHL West with a record of 31-26-1-4, two points ahead of Saginaw (32-29-1-0), five points ahead of Windsor (28-28-3-3) and six points up on Sault Ste. Marie (27-29-3-4).

The Whalers play in Windsor on Thursday and in Erie on Friday before returning home next Sunday to host Sault Ste. Marie at 2:00 p.m.

Alpena tops Traverse City Sunday, 4-2

The Traverse City North Stars missed a golden opportunity to put some distance between themselves and Alpena in the race for the fourth and final playoff berth in the NAHL’s North Division, dropping a 4-2 contest on Sunday at Northern Lights Arena.

Alpena improved to 10-35-5 for 25 points – 11 behind Traverse City. The IceDiggers have eight games remaining, including three more versus the North Stars, while TC (15-33-6) has just four games left on its regular season slate after a point-less weekend.

“They just crashed the net, beat us to pucks, and generally outworked us again today,” lamented Stars head coach/GM Scott Gardiner. “I was very disappointed in our effort. We had a chance to put some distance between us and plain and simple did not come to play. I don’t know how we go from skating with the best team in the league (Texas) to what we did this weekend.”

The IceDiggers peppered Stars goalie Ryan Donovan with 56 shots, including 26 in the second period alone. Peter O’Hara worked the Diggers’ pipes, picking up his first NAHL victory with 30 saves in 32 chances.

After a scoreless first period, the floodgates opened early in the second. Drew Pierson pushed the hosts in front just :40 into the session, and assisted on captain Nolan Craner’s marker a scant 2:07 later.

The Stars responded at the 8:29 mark when Travis Paeth recorded his 21st tally of the campaign on assists from Steve Hackman and Patrick Nagorsen. Defenseman Jarrett Rush (Richie Zobak, Nagorsen) scored his second goal in as many nights with 1:18 to play before the second intermission to pull Traverse City even at 2-all, but Matt Suggs (pictured) issued an Alpena rejoinder with 26 second left in the period.

Suggs’ second goal of the contest – at the 2:59 mark of the third stanza – cemented the Diggers’ victory.

The North Stars -- who played their sixth game in 10 days – get a break from the rigors of the late regular season for almost two full weeks.

“Three-game weekends, all the injuries – those are excuses,” Gardiner said. “It will be nice to get a chance to heal up, but I care a lot less about the winning and the losing if the effort is there, and we didn’t give it.”

TC has been without defensemen Ryan Reid (back) and Christoffer Rasmussen (concussion), and forwards Mike Sand (leg – out for year), Joe St. John (concussion) and Ryan Bond (knee), and can nurse their various wounds until St. Patrick’s Day. That’s when the all-everything Team USA Under-18 squad invades Centre ICE for a 7:30 p.m. affair.

North Stars swept by Mahoning Valley

North Stars forward Matt Larke and Mahoning Valley defenseman Craig Dulman wrangle for position during Saturday's NAHL North Division contest at Centre ICE arena.

(Photo by John L. Russell/Great Lakes Images)

A pair of first period Traverse City goals sandwiched between three-goal spurts by the visiting Phantoms wasn’t enough on Saturday night at Centre ICE arena, as Mahoning Valley got out to a 3-0 lead and never looked back, handing the North Stars a 7-4 defeat in the second of a two-game set.

Craig Dulman, Mike Maltese, and Anthony Ciraulo registered first period markers in a span of less than four minutes before Jarrett Rush and Joe Schweiger pulled the hosts to within a goal with 3:37 to play before the first intermission. TC would never get that close again, as Maltese, Matt Atsoff, and Ciraulo recorded unrequited goals to push the Phantoms’ bulge to 6-3. Atsoff opened the third period with his second tally of the evening before Jared Mullen finally answered for the home club with 15:11 to play. Brett Englebright capped the scoring with 1:44 on the clock for the Stars.

“They just plain outworked us,” explained Traverse City head coach-GM Scott Gardiner. "We woke up for a while in the first, but we definetly didn’t play our best hockey in the second. We had a little jump there in the third, but it’s the same battle we’ve faced all year – being consistent for 60 minutes.”

Ryan Donovan got the start in net for the North Stars (15-32-6), stopping 20 of 26 through 40 minutes of action, while Jeremy Kaleniecki finished the job, turning away eight of the nine shots he saw. Bryce Merriam notched the victory in net for Mahoning Valley with 29 saves. The Stars surrendered two power-play goals and a shorthanded effort, the team’s league-leading 18th shorthanded tally surrendered this season.

Saturday’s game threatened to careen out of control early in the third period, as the teams took turns challenging the other to fisticuffs, but cooler heads finally prevailed. The clubs did combine for 28 penalties and 94 minutes in the box, including seven citations to the Stars in the second period and as many to the specters in the final stanza.

The Stars get forward Jon Madden back for Sunday’s matinee in Alpena, having served his two-game suspension for a fight during a Feb. 26 game against Team USA U-17, while fellow forward Ryan Bond (knee) will begin skating again on Monday. Gardiner says that having just 17 of a possible 25 players available is beginning to take its toll.

“By the end of the month, we hope to finally have almost everyone back. And that’s the bigger picture, really. I’ll feel a lot better when we can get 20 guys healthy to dress.”

Sunday’s contest in Alpena marks the conclusion of the second consecutive three-game weekend for the North Stars. The club gets next weekend off before a St. Patrick’s Day special against the Team USA U-18 squad at Centre ICE arena.

Whalers back in first place, beat Spits

Chris Terry, James Neal, Andrew Fournier (pictured) and John Armstrong scored the goals and the Plymouth penalty killers were excellent in a 4-2 victory over the Windsor Spitfires Saturday night at the Compuware Sports Arena.

The Plymouth victory, coupled with Saginaw's 3-1 loss to Kitchener Saturday night, leaves the Whalers all alone in first place in the OHL West with a record of 31-25-1-4, two points up on Saginaw (32-29-1-0) and five points up on Windsor (28-28-3-3). The Whalers have one game in hand on Saginaw and Windsor.

Plymouth plays in Sault Ste. Marie Sunday night.

Photo by Walt Dmoch.

Whalers take out Saginaw, 5-2

James Neal scored a goal and added two assists to lead the Plymouth Whalers to a 5-2 victory over the Saginaw Spirit Friday night at the Compuware Sports Arena.

Steve Ward scored two goals for Plymouth while center Evan Brophey had a goal and an assist and defenseman Ryan McGinnis added an empty-net goal for the Whalers. Jesse Gimblett and Ryan Berard scored for Saginaw.

Neal (above) scored what proved to be the game-winning goal at 16:32 of the second period, when he accepted Chris Terry’s pass in front of the Saginaw goal, cut to his left and appeared to tuck the puck underneath the bar for his 16th goal of the season. The goal light went on to signal a goal, but play continued.

At the next whistle, referees Mark Hicks and Brad Beer and linesmen Joe Celestin and Geoff Rutherford conferred and awarded Plymouth the goal. Television replays confirmed the puck was clearly in the net and Plymouth led, 3-1, after forty minutes of play.

The victory moves Plymouth into a tie for first place in the OHL West with Saginaw. Both teams have 65 points; Saginaw’s record is 32-28-1-0; Plymouth 30-25-1-4. The Spirit and Whalers are three points ahead of the third place Windsor Spitfires (28-27-3-3).

Plymouth hosts Windsor Saturday night and the Spirit host Kitchener.

Photo by Walt Dmoch.

North Stars suffer 5-2 defeat to Phantoms

The Traverse City North Stars are becoming all too familiar with the NAHL’s top scoring line. The trio of Anthony Ciraulo, Marc Menzione and Drew Satterley made the Stars pay once again on Saturday at Centre ICE, as each posted a goal and an assist during a third period that saw the Mahoning Valley Phantoms turn a 1-1 game into a 5-2 victory for the visitors.

Traverse City stayed 13 points ahead of Alpena in the chase for the fourth and final playoff berth in the NAHL’s North Division.

The IceDiggers dropped a 4-2 decision to Cleveland on Friday at Northern Lights Arena.

“We just didn’t have the jump we had last weekend against Texas,” Stars head coach/GM Scott Gardiner said. “We had to dress 17 instead of 20 because of injuries and suspensions, but we have to figure out a way to get these guys (Mahoning Valley). It’s the same guys that beat us every time we play them.”

Patrick Nagorsen had the lone goal of the opening stanza – his 17th of the season -- giving the host North Stars a 1-0 edge they’d carry into the second period. Travis Paeth and Sal Ragusa drew assists. Milan Drevenak evened things up 5:03 into the second period, and Menzione gave the visitors a 2-1 advantage just 2:49 into the final session. Jarrett Rush and Matt Larke set up Jonathan Juliano for an equalizing goal two minutes after Menzione’s marker, but Satterley (10:50) and Mike Maltese (11:55) put the game away for the Phantoms. Menzione added an empty-netter with three seconds left to make it a 5-2 final.

Gardiner says he was disappointed with the outcome, but not the play of TC netkeep Ryan Donovan, who has taken his game to another level over the past month.

“Donnie kept us in the game tonight,” Gardiner explained. “It was a solid, solid effort for Ryan. Those first goals we gave up in the third were due to major breakdowns in our own end. We can’t let these guys get set up in the slot like that, because they’ll bury the puck, and that’s exactly what they did.”

Donovan made 37 saves on 43 attempts, while his Mahoning Valley counterpart, Ryan Zapolski, claimed the victory with 26 stops.

The Phantoms (30-16-4) return to Centre ICE arena on Saturday for another 7:30 p.m. face-off. The Stars, now 15-31-6, will play a third game this weekend, traveling to Alpena for a Sunday matinee.

Spirit clinch playoff berth for first time

With the Erie Otters losing to the Barrie Colts Thursday night, the Saginaw Spirit are set to appear in the Ontario Hockey League playoffs for the first time in franchise history.

"The excitement of playoff hockey will now become a reality for the best fans in the OHL - the Saginaw Spirit fans" said Spirit co-owner and V.P. of Business Operations Craig Goslin. "We are thrilled that the team has qualified for the playoffs for the first time in our short history here in Saginaw."

The playoffs are scheduled to begin the week of March 20. Playoff tickets will go on sale to the general public starting March 8. Tickets will be sold at both the Spirit Store, 5789 State Street, and the Dow Event Center ticket office.

Watch http://www.saginawspirit.com/ for details on game opponents, schedules and more

Black Bears fall in Sudbury Wednesday

The Northern Michigan Black Bears lost, 4-2, last night in Sudbury to the Jr. Wolves.

The Bears (26-14-6) still sit in third place in the NOJHL standings with two games left, both on the road next week.

Isaac Viau and Steve Kruszewski scored for Northern Michigan while Tony Stoehr and Elliot Hogue combined for 24 saves in net.

Northern Michigan is now off until next Wednesday when they play the Soo Thunderbirds and then next Friday in Blind River against the Beavers.

North Stars host Phantoms Friday, Saturday

As the host club of this year’s Robertson Cup tournament, the Mahoning Valley Phantoms get an automatic berth into the North American Hockey League’s version of the Big Dance, but that doesn’t mean the Phantoms are taking it easy down the stretch of the regular season.

On the contrary, says Mahoning Valley assistant coach and Director of Player Development Ian Fredericks, who will help lead his Phantoms into Centre ICE arena this weekend for a Friday-Saturday series with the Traverse City North Stars. The Phantoms sit in second place in the NAHL’s North Division at 29-16-4, just four points behind the U.S. National Team Development Program in the race for the division crown.

“That’s our aim, there’s no doubt about it,” said Fredericks, whose team has won nine of the 10 games against the North Stars this season. “USA has four games in hand, but after this weekend, we get to play pretty much against USA and (third-place) Cleveland the rest of the way. That should make for a pretty exciting stretch run, because we sure don’t want to back into the nationals. We want to earn our way there.”

Boasting what Traverse City head coach/GM Scott Gardiner calls “perhaps the best line in the league” -- Anthony Ciraulo (pictured), from Clinton Township, former Soo Indians' forward Drew Satterley (Kentwood), and Marc Menzione – the Phantoms come into Centre ICE having won six of their last nine outings since the Stars posted a 4-3 shootout win over the Valley on Jan. 28 in TC. With Gardiner’s team trying to hold off Alpena for the fourth and final playoff berth in the North Division, the weekend has added significance for both clubs.

“We know we have to play a 60-minute game against them,” Gardiner said. “We have to play well in all three zones, because that’s what they do. They have a nice mix of size and speed and skill, and we’re going to have to do the same.”

The Stars are coming off a near-sweep of last weekend, knocking off the two-time defending champion Texas by a 7-4 count on Friday before falling in a shootout on Saturday to the Tornado. TC led 2-1 with nine seconds left in regulation before Texas knotted the contest and took it to the shootout session. On Sunday, TC held a 3-1 lead halfway through the third period before dropping a 4-3 decision to the Team USA U-17 squad.

“We played well, and if we get that kind of effort that we saw from our guys last weekend, we’ll be able to play with anybody, and that’s kind of what we took away from last weekend.”

Fredericks says his team can’t afford a letdown against the Stars, given Traverse City’s style of play.

“We can’t go into Traverse City and think that they’ve only taken one (game) from us this year,” Fredericks said. “We know they’ll continue to battle us all game, and that sort of works against them in a way. When you get up on a team like Alpena, they just fold up shop, but not TC. They force you to play them hard for a full 60 minutes because they won’t go away, they won’t stop working.”

Ciraulo and Menzione lead the Phantoms with 66 points each, which ties them for fourth among all NAHL skaters. Menzione has 25 goals and 41 assists on the year, while Ciraulo has chipped in with 21 goals and 45 assists. Satterley is right there with a team-high 26 goals and assists on 25 others.

“They’re as good as any players we’ve faced,” Gardiner said. “You have to know they’re going to be doing things on the offensive end of the ice.”

Forwards Patrick Nagorsen and Travis Paeth lead the charge for Traverse City. Both are becoming offensive forces less than a year removed from high school hockey. Nagorsen, an Orchard Lake St. Mary’s Prep product, has registered 16 goals and 22 assists for a team-high 38 points. Former Muskegon Mona Shores star Paeth has lit the lamp 20 times, including three on Friday vs. Texas, and has drawn 13 assists as well.

The Stars three-game weekend ends on the road Sunday in a matinee against the IceDiggers. A win at Northern Lights Arena would almost cement the fourth and final postseason berth for Traverse City.

VALLEY VISIT
WHO: Mahoning Valley Phantoms (29-16-4, 62 pts.; 2nd place in NAHL North Division) at Traverse City North Stars (15-30-6, 36 pts.; 4th place in NAHL North Division)
WHEN: Friday and Saturday, 7:30 p.m.
WHERE: Centre ICE arena
TICKETS: (231) 941-9200
ON THE WEB: http://www.traversecitynorthstars.com/