WEEKEND SCOREBOARD - Nov. 20, 2006

Plymouth's Andrew Fournier celebrates his goal Friday night

OHL

Fri. Nov. 17
at Plymouth 7, Saginaw 3

Sat. Nov. 18
Kingston 5 at Plymouth 2
at Saginaw 4, Sarnia 3 (OT)

NAHL

Fri. Nov. 17
Alpena 5 at Marquette 3
at Mahoning Valley 5, Traverse City 2

Sat. Nov. 18
Alpena 4 at Marquette 3 (OT)
at Mahoning Valley 3, Traverse City 1

NOJHL

Sat. Nov. 18
Soo 4 at Blind River 1

Sun. Nov. 19
Soo 7 at Canadian Soo 2


Photo by Walt Dmoch

Rangers set up mitten tree for charity

The Marquette Rangers will have a mitten tree set up beginning at the game tonight against the Alpena IceDiggers and ending at the game Dec. 22.

The tree will be accessible at all games and 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday in the Rangers' office for people to donate mittens, hats and scarves for local charity.

The Rangers will be collecting the items and distributing to organizations and local charities such as the Salvation Army, women’s shelter and Janzen House, or as needed.

Saginaw wins fifth straight Thursday

Zack Torquato scored a pair of goals as the Saginaw Spirit beat the Erie Otters, 4-3, Thursday night at home for their fifth straight win.

Jack Combs had the game winner 6:57 into the third period as the Spirit (16-5-0-1) extended its overall OHL lead to three points over London, who fell 3-0 to Kitchener.

Captain Patrick McNeill added a single goal for Saginaw.

Erie captain Ryan O'Marra, Shayne Taylor and Nick Palmeiri replied for the Otters (5-15-0-2), who have lost two straight and own the worst record in the league.

Saginaw goalie Ryan Daniels stopped 29 shots in the win, while Jonathan Laniel made 44 saves for Erie.

The Spirit travel to Plymouth tonight to battle the Whalers.

Mancini named Grand Marshall of parade

The Saginaw Spirit have been given the honor of Grand Marshall for Saginaw’s 29th Annual Christmas Parade, presented by PRIDE in Saginaw Inc.

The parade kicks off at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday at the corner of Genesee and Jefferson and will head west, ending at the corner of North Michigan and Cass Avenue.

Spirit coach-GM Bob Mancini will serve as the Grand Marshall for the parade and will be joined by Sammy Spirit, Steagle Colbeagle the Eagle and the Saginaw Spirit Dance Team.

Spirit fans are invited to walk in the parade with the Spirit. Those interested are asked to wear Spirit apparel and meet at the Spirit float by 10:45 a.m.

TC goalie to become NAHL's youngest player

Traverse City is expecting to formally add 15-year-old goaltender Spencer Sonneveldt to its roster, giving the North Stars the youngest player in the entire North American Hockey League.

"It's a little weird, but everybody's cool about it," Sonneveldt said. "It makes me work harder to keep up with them."

The 5-foot-9, 170-pound netminder received his release from the Midget A North Stars travel team on Monday, and is expected to be officially added to the Junior A North Stars' roster later this week.

"I believe he's the goalie of the future," North Stars head coach Scott Gardiner said.

Read the rest from the Traverse City Record-Eagle here.

Whalers take three wins over weekend

The Plymouth Whalers ended their five-game losing streak with a perfect three-win weekend.

PLYMOUTH 4, SARNIA 1 on SUNDAY
Led by goaltender Michal Neuvirth's 40 saves, the Whalers win their third straight game.

PLYMOUTH 6, SARNIA 5 in SATURDAY SHOOTOUT
Evan Brophey scores the winner as the Whalers remain perfect in shootouts this season at 4-0.

PLYMOUTH 4, OWEN SOUND 0 on FRIDAY
Jeremy Smith records his OHL-leading third shutout of the season with 42 saves in 4-0 win over Owen Sound.

The third-place Whalers host the Saginaw Spirit Friday night and Kingston on Saturday.

In other Michigan junior news...

Saginaw took a 5-4 shootout win over Owen Sound Saturday and then took over first place in the OHL with a 7-2 win against Brampton yesterday. The Spirit return home Thursday against Erie. Friday night, Saginaw will be in Plymouth and will then finish out the weekend at home against Sarnia on Saturday night.

The Alpena IceDiggers beat the Traverse City North Stars twice last weekend - Friday 6-5 in overtime and Saturday in a shootout, 3-2. Traverse City plays two at Mahoning Valley this weekend, while Alpena will head to Marquette to play a pair with the Rangers.

Marquette was swept in their three-game set in Mahoning Valley. The Phantoms won 5-0 on Friday, 7-2 on Saturday and 6-1 on Sunday. The Rangers host Alpena this weekend.

The Soo Indians fell to Abitibi, 5-3, on Saturday night and 5-2 to North Bay Sunday. The Indians are at Blind River Saturday and Canadian Soo Sunday.

Saginaw upends Toronto Thursday night

Chris Chappell scored twice and added an assist as the Saginaw Spirit defeated the Toronto-St. Michael's Majors, 8-3, Thursday night in Toronto.

Toronto native Ryan McDonough and captain Patrick McNeill each added a pair of goals while Tom Pyatt and Tom Craig contributed singles for the Spirit (13-5-0-1).

Former Toronto captain Tyler Haskins chipped in with three assists. Ryan Berard and Garrett Sinfield helped out on two goals each.

"They made us look pretty average with their skill," Majors coach Bud Stefanski told the Canadian Press.

Ryan Daniels made 29 saves to earn the win for Saginaw.

North Stars, IceDiggers set for two

A year ago, the Alpena IceDiggers won a North American Hockey League-low 13 games in 58 tries.

Through just 18 contests in 2006-07, the Diggers have scored a dozen wins, lead the North Division by a full four points, and have built a 10-point cushion between themselves and this weekend’s opponent, the Traverse City North Stars.

When the regional rivals square off on Friday in Alpena before returning to Centre ICE arena on Saturday, the North Stars will look to end a seven-game skid against a team that has lost three of its last five.

“Every game between us is a battle – they know it and we know it,” said Traverse City head coach Scott Gardiner. “And certainly, I don’t think they’ll count us out because we’re 10 points behind them, but at the same time we can’t let the spread get two big or it’ll be too hard to catch them.”

The North Stars, having reshuffled the deck last week in terms of personnel movement, were not as cohesive a unit last Friday as they were on Saturday in a 3-2 loss at Mahoning Valley.

Newly-acquired defenseman Nick Von Bokern paid immediate dividends soon after his arrival from Fairbanks last week, scoring a power play goal and assisting on two others versus the Phantoms, while TC native Mike Glaesmer – another new pickup – also registered a goal and a pair of assists in Boardman.

“We’re close to coming out of this and it seems like we’re starting to jell a little bit after throwing so many new guys into the mix all at once,” Gardiner said. “You go into every weekend looking for four points, so we’re going to have to go into their building with a lot of effort and get after them as quickly as possible.”

Alpena’s dynamic duo of Nolan Craner (13 G/19 A) and Todd Rudasill (12 G – 19 A) – the NAHL’s top two leading scorers – has become a tremendous trio, as fellow forward Drew Pierson (9 G/13 A) has climbed the league’s scoring chart, coming into the weekend eighth among all NAHL skaters. The threesome is most exacting on the power play, combining for 22 extra-man markers, while powering the Diggers’ PP unit to a 21.74 percent efficiency – far and away tops in the league.

Both weekend games face-off at 7 p.m., with Friday night’s contest at Northern Lights Arena in Alpena, and Saturday’s back-ender at Centre ICE arena.

Saginaw gets Williams from Wisconsin

ANDY BAGGOT
abaggot@madison.com
Wisconsin State Journal

Unhappy with a lack of playing time, highly regarded defenseman Nigel Williams left the University of Wisconsin men's hockey team.

Williams was in the process of withdrawing from school Wednesday and is expected to sign with Saginaw, a Michigan-based major junior franchise in the Ontario Hockey League.

"He was not a happy young man," UW coach Mike Eaves said Wednesday. "Hockey is very important to him. It's what makes him tick and feeds his self-esteem and all those important issues as an 18-year- old. He just felt right now this is what he had to do."

A second-round pick of Colorado in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft, Williams appeared in one of the first 10 games for the Badgers. He was unable to crack the top seven of a veteran unit in part because his puck- handling and decision-making were not yet to the level Eaves wanted.

Williams, listed at 6-foot-5 and 220 pounds, spoke last month of being "very frustrated" at not playing. He said it was reminiscent of a year ago when he didn't see regular playing time with the U.S. National Team Development Program.

"I thought I was going to be playing a lot more (with UW)," Williams said.

Eaves said the situation with Williams was similar to last season when sophomore winger Matt Auffrey left school and signed with Kitchener of OHL.

"(Williams) kind of wants to play now instead of being patient and growing," Eaves said.

Saginaw drafted Williams in the 14th round (263rd overall) of the 2005 OHL Priority Selection.

IceDiggers to wear camo jerseys Friday night

The Alpena IceDiggers will wear special event camouflage jerseys, sponsored by Lafarge, this Friday night at Northern Lights Arena when they play host to the Traverse City North Stars at 7:00 p.m.

The game-worn jerseys will be auctioned off immediately following the game in the main grand stands. The bidding will start at $100.

With the help of OT Sports, the official jersey supplier of the NAHL, the IceDiggers are extremely happy with the design of the jerseys.

"We are excited about the jerseys and really feel our fans will like them." said Alpena VP/GM Bob Krafft. "If you have a favorite IceDigger player, this is a great chance to own a game-worn jersey."

The IceDiggers will sport the camouflage jersey on Friday only five days prior to opening day of hunting season in Alpena. Krafft and his staff thought it would go over great with not only the IceDigger faithful, but hunters in the area as well.

"When we were looking at doing the special event jerseys, we went to Lafarge and gave them the idea and they were very excited about it," Krafft added. "This jersey not only appeals to hockey fans, but hunters as well."

The IceDiggers play only one their next 12 games inside Northern Lights Arena.

Alpena currently sits atop the North Division with a record of 12-5-1. Nolan Craner and Todd Rudasill sit one and two in the NAHL scoring race. As a team, the IceDiggers currently lead the NAHL in power-play goals with 35.

Marquette splits with Fargo-Moorhead

The Marquette Rangers took advantage of a five-minute power play in the first period, registering three goals en route to a 6-3 road win over the Fargo-Moorhead Jets Friday night.

Neeco Belanger, Nic Weight and Matt Tinordi all registered goals in under a minute for a 3-1 lead in the first period, but the Jets cut the Rangers’ lead to one before intermission.

Marquette responded in the second and third periods with three unanswered goals. Jason Cohen had the lone goal in the second period and in the third, Belanger and Nick Kosinski each posted scores.

Belanger finished the game with two goals and two assists, while Kosinski notched a goal and an assist.

Goalie Stephen Ritter stopped 22 of 25 shots faced for Marquette.

Saturday night, after scoring the most goals by any opponent against the Jets in four seasons at home, the Rangers looked for the sweep Saturday night. The Rangers never led in the contest and were outshot 44-26 on the way to a 5-1 loss.

Dustin Partacz scored the lone Ranger goal in the third period and Matt Brooker made 41 saves.

The Rangers hit the road for the last away series against the Mahoning Valley Phantoms in Boardman, Ohio this weekend, before returning home to host Alpena Nov. 17 and 18.

North Stars swept in Mahoning Valley

FRIDAY

When it rains, it pours.

And there was a deluge on Friday at the Boardman IceZone, as Mahoning Valley handed the visiting Traverse City North Stars a 7-2 setback at the Phantoms' home opener.

Doug Leaverton's knuckling, bounding puck from beyond the blue line somehow found its way into the back of the Traverse City net just 2:26 into the contest, and the affair snowballed in favor of the hosts from there.

"When it's bad, it's bad - and it was bad tonight," admitted Stars head coach Scott Gardiner. "That first dump-in that scored - it wasn't why we lost, and it wasn't anybody's fault, but it was kind of symbolic of how our night went."

New TC defenseman Nick Von Bokern did give the North Stars a 1-1 tie when he registered a power-play marker a mere :16 into the second period, but Matt Quigley responded for Mahoning Valley a little more than two minutes later and Nathan Longpre added what turned out to be the game-winner a minute after that. It was the first of two for Quigley, and the first of three for Longpre, who would post two more in the second period.

Mike Glaesmer posted his first goal in a Stars sweater, keeping Longpre from the natural hat trick with a power-play effort at 11:46 of the second. Glaesmer and Aaron Pietila had assisted on Van Bokern's goal, while Jameson Raymond and Kent Detlefsen drew helpers on Glaesmer's marker.

The game featured a plethora of shots on net as the teams combined for 93 attempts, but TC's Stefan Shively was the busiest goalkeep, absorbing 55 shots to Ryan Zapolski's 38. The North Stars fell to 7-10-1, while Mahoning Valley upped its mark to 9-7-1. The clubs have now split their four regular season meetings in 2006-07.

"I know we have a ton of new guys, and you might expect as much, but we were not in sync tonight," Gardiner added. "We had two new guys with the goals, but we need our producers to produce. There were times tonight when we dominated - like almost the entire second period - but it's a period we still lost, and it's frustrating."

SATURDAY

The Traverse City North Stars struck first and struck last on Saturday at the Boardman Ice Zone, but the host Mahoning Valley Phantoms wedged a trio of goals betwixt to claim a 3-2 triumph in the finale of a two-game series.

Joe Greener put Traverse City ahead just five minutes into the contest on a power play marker set up by Aaron Pietila and newly-acquired Nick Van Bokern, but Chris Fairbanks (7:42), Alden Hirschfeld (12:30) and Dustin Cloutier (13:32) reeled off the game-winning trifecta in the middle stanza.

Patrick Nagorsen pulled Traverse City (7-11-1) to within one on a power play goal at 10:12 of the third, but the North Stars couldn't crack Phantoms goalkeep Ryan Zapolski down the stretch. Mike Glaesmer and Van Bokern drew assists on Nagorsen's sixth of the season.

Glaesmer recorded three points in the two-game series, while Van Bokern now leads all North American Hockey League defensemen with 10 power-play assists.

Kyle Jendra staffed the TC net, stopping 30 of the 33 shots he faced, while Zapolski went 31-for-33.

The North Stars face off with regional adversary Alpena next weekend, with Friday night's contest slated for Northern Lights Arena and Saturday's return engagement at Centre ICE arena. Both clashes commence at 7 p.m.

Saginaw topples champs, falls to Barrie

Saginaw went 1-1 last weekend with a loss at home to Barrie and a win at home against Peterborough on Saturday.

Jan Mursak and Tom Pyatt both registered a goal and an assist to help lead the Spirit to a 5-3 win over Peterborough Saturday. Captain Patrick McNeill, Zack Torquato and Patrick Asselin also scored for Saginaw, who out-shot the Petes, 48-19.

Jovica Zelenbaba made 16 saves for the win. Mursak extended his consecutive point streak record to 18 games as well.

Friday, Barrie defeated Saginaw, 4-2.

Mursak and Torquato tallied for Saginaw and Ryan Daniels made 24 saves.

The Spirit go on a road trip this weekend, with games in Toronto, Owen Sound and Brampton. The team’s next home game in on Thursday, Nov. 16 against Erie.

Whalers suffer brutal weekend out east

The Plymouth Whalers left for their eastern Ontario road swing a .500 team (8-6-0-0) only to return one game under (8-9-0-0) the break-even mark.

Plymouth lost 3-2 in Ottawa on Friday, 3-1 in Belleville Saturday and 5-2 in Kingston yesterday with only five defenseman and seven forwards.

James Neal scored both goals for the Whalers against Ottawa and Jeremy Smith made 31 saves in goal.

Vern Cooper tallied the lone goal Saturday. Michal Neuvirth stopped 33 shots.

Sunday, Cooper and Wes Cunningham scored and Smith and Neuvirth combined for 31 saves. Neuvirth started, played the first 40 minutes and took the loss.

Captain Steve Ward, Jared Boll, Dan Collins, Neal, Ryan McGinnis and Tom Sestito didn't play Sunday along with Andrew Fournier and Joe McCann. Zack Shepley and John Armstrong didn't play all weekend.

Eight players broke curfew Saturday night while at a Belleville restaurant and were caught by head coach Mike Vellucci.

"Not the way I wanted to spend my birthday," Fournier told the Kingston Whig-Standard.

He turned 19 yesterday and missed his team's only visit to his hometown.

Vellucci refused to elaborate on the incident, saying only that the matter "was behind us" and that the eight would be reinstated for Plymouth’s next game.

"The guys that did play played great and showed a ton of character," Vellucci said in the same Whig article. "We never gave up and with a couple of breaks, who knows?"

The Whalers return home to host Owen Sound Friday and Sarnia Saturday. Plymouth is then in Sarnia for a Sunday matinee.

Indians in three-way tie for second

A weekend split has left the Soo Indians in a three-way tie for second place within the torrid standings of the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League.

After losing 2-1 to Sudbury despite outshooting the Kal Tire Junior Wolves 37-29 on Friday night, the Indians rebounded on Saturday evening to post a tidy 3-1 decision over the crossriver rival Soo Thunderbirds before 254 fans at Big Bear Arena.

With 20 points from a 10-6 record, the Indians are tied with North Bay and Blind River for second place, just three points back of first-place Sudbury but just three points ahead of surging Abitibi.

Friday night, defenceman Sean Reid scored the only goal for the Indians, who were repeatedly thwarted by Sudbury rookie goalie Alain Valiquette.

Saturday night, the Indians ran into another hot goalie in Ryan Dube of the Thunderbirds. The Indians poured 50 shots at Dube -- 20 in the third period -- but needed two goals in the final frame to break a 1-1 tie and secure the 3-1 triumph.

Joe Larson, Chris Cooper and Sean Farley, with his team-leading 13th goal, handled the Indians' scoring. Paul Isleib added two assists for the Indians to boost his point totals to 3-12-15, second on the Indians to Farley, who is 13-7-20.

Brennan Poderzay started in the Indians net and blocked 13 of 14 shots in the first period before tweaking his hamstring. Elliot Hogue finished up with a 23-save effort over two periods to post the win.

Indians' head coach Jim Capy was relieved to get the win over the Thunderbirds.

"We had 87 shots in two games and scored only four goals and that is a concern. Had we finished better around the net, we would have won both games," the Indians' boss said evenly.

Capy, Hogue and Indians' chief scout Jim Yardanoff will be among the guests when "The Hockey North Show" makes its debut on SportsZeus.com on Thursday, November 9 at 7:00 p.m. The show will be broadcast live from Brody's Sports Bar in Soo, Ontario.

IceDiggers beat Team USA Friday night

In Alpena, the hometown IceDiggers completed their delayed three-game set with the U.S. National Team with a 5-2 win. The two teams had split Tuesday and Wednesday.

Captain Nolan Craner scored twice with an assist, while Todd Rudasill had a goal and two helpers. Drew Pierson added three assists to go along with single goals from Marco Ruggeri and Mike DeGrazia.

Mike Jarboe took the win making 23 saves.

Alpena plays a home-and-home series with the Traverse City North Stars next weekend. Friday's game is in Alpena and Saturday's shifts to Traverse City.

IceDiggers lose Tuesday, win Wednesday

Alpena split the first two games of its staggered three-game series with the U.S. National Team Development Program.

Tuesday night in Ann Arbor, the Under-18 squad took a 6-3 win. Eric Roman, Evan West and Drew Pierson scored for the IceDiggers. Chris Hendrickson tacked on two assists and Shawn Hunwick made 22 saves.

Last night, Alpena scored three times in the third period to rally for a 4-3 win. Nolan Craner and Todd Rudasill each had a goal and an assist to go along with single goals from Ben Kitzmiller and Jim McCusker (first NAHL goal). Mike Jarboe finished with 23 saves in net.

The two teams play again tomorrow night in Alpena. Game time is 7:00 p.m.

Spirit edges Greyhounds Wednesday night

Garrett Sinfield scored his first goal of the season 6:39 into the third period and it stood as the game-winner as the Saginaw Spirit beat the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, 5-4, last night in Sault Ste. Marie.

Zack Torquato scored twice for Saginaw, winners of nine of their last 10 games. Patrick Asselin and Tom Pyatt added singles, while Ryan Daniels posted 23 saves in net.

The Barrie Colts are in first place in the Eastern Conference with 23 points, making Friday night's game in Saginaw a match-up for first place overall in the OHL.

Indians make four-player deal with Blind River

The Soo Indians have shipped two players from their active roster to the Blind River Beavers in exchange for the playing rights to two others in a trade completed Tuesday night.

Going to Blind River are winger Alex Durinka and defenceman Brett Lavalley. Durinka had one assist in six games with the Indians this season while Lavalley was pointless in his only outing. Both are 1987 birth years.

In exchange for the two, the Indians acquired the rights to forwards Shane Bailey and Sam Yearsley, both of whom are currently playing in the North American Hockey League.

Both Bailey and Yearsley played for Indians' coach-general manager Jim Capy when he was with Blind River last season.

Bailey, a 1986 birth year, had 19 goals and 10 assists in 38 games with the Beavers last season. Yearsley, a 1987 birth year, had 15 goals and 20 assists in 40 games with the Beavers last season.

Should Bailey and Yearsley join the Indians, they would hook up with two of their former Blind River teammates from last season -- forwards J.P. Perpich and Nick Zilka -- who were obtained by Capy from the Beavers in transactions made earlier this season.

Rangers make several roster tweaks

The Marquette Rangers have made some roster moves to hopefully help the team continue its climb to the top of the NAHL's North Division.

Forward Chad Johnson and defenseman Andy Keogh have been released, making room for defensemen Nikki Holt and John McAfee. Holt joins the Rangers from the Bozeman IceDogs Junior B team, while McAfee was released by the Alaska Avalanche of the NAHL.

"We feel we've complemented our current roster with the addition of Holt and McAfee," said Marquette head coach Leigh Mendelson. "Holt is a 6-foot, 180-pound 20-year-old that gives us a little more experience at the blue line. He played for John LaFontaine in Bozeman and has been an immediate contributor to our team. McAfee was released by Alaska and we feel he has a good upside. Our fans will certainly notice his size (6-foot-5, 220 pounds) but as an 18-year-old he will learn a lot from some of our veteran defensemen."

In addition, the Rangers traded defenseman Todd Graham to the Fairbanks Ice Dogs for forward Artie Peckscamp. Peckscamp saw limited action in five games with Fairbanks, registering one assist and four penalty minutes.

"Artie is an 18-year-old who played Minnesota high school hockey last season," Mendelson said. "He is a young forward who will have a chance to learn and play under some very good forwards on our team."