Muskegon's Paeth off to Western Michigan

Des Moines Buccaneers' forward Travis Paeth has verbally committed to Western Michigan University.

Paeth, a native of Muskegon, was a fourth-round draft pick by the Buccaneers in the 2006 USHL Entry Draft. He came to Des Moines after spending last season playing for the Traverse City North Stars of the NAHL.

The 19-year-old Paeth currently has two goals and three assists in seven games for the Buccaneers and has helped the team to get off to a 7-1 start in its first eight games.

"Travis has come in and worked hard for our club," said Des Moines coach-GM Regg Simon. "He's filled a role for our team and now he'll be a great fit for the Western Michigan program."

Paeth is the eleventh member of the Buccaneers to commit to a Division I hockey program this season. Previously committed players to Michigan schools are Jeff Petry (Farmington Hills/Michigan State), Aaron Palushaj (Northville/Michigan), Ben Ryan (Brighton/Notre Dame) and Austin Handley (Clarkston/Michigan State).

North Stars deal trio to Fairbanks

The Traverse City North Stars dealt away a trio of core players on Tuesday, acquiring a physical defensive presence and additional scoring punch.

The club traded away forwards Jonathan Juliano and Travis Hamway, along with defenseman Arthur Bidwill, to the Fairbanks Ice Dogs for behemoth defenseman Nick Von Bokern and forward Mario Mjelleli.

Traverse City head coach Scott Gardiner says the move, which comes on the heels of a five-game skid, should pay dividends immediately.

“I think we needed a change of team chemistry,” said Gardiner, whose club is now 7-9-1 after a pair of narrow losses to Marquette this weekend. “What we have here is a very good team not playing to its potential, and we felt like we had to do something to jump-start the team.”

Van Bokern, a 6-4, 210-pound defenseman from Burnsville, Minn., has a goal and 10 assists through 18 games this year for Bozeman. The 19-year-old (he turns 20 on Saturday) played the previous two seasons with the Ice Dogs as well, collecting 27 points over that span. He has been most effective on special teams, dishing out eight power play assists and a pair of short-handed helpers.

“He has the size and the physical presence to make a huge impact with us from the day he gets here,” said Gardiner, who hopes to have his new tandem in uniform for this weekend’s two-game series at Mahoning Valley. “He has a tremendous shot from the point on the power play, and we could use that, too.”

The 20-year-old Mjelleli, a 5-10, 180-pound center/wing from Faribault, Minn., has four goals and seven assists in his 18 games of action this season, and tallied 11 goals to go with five assists for Fairbanks in 2005-06.

“Mario’s another hard-worker, he can play anywhere along the front line,” Gardiner assessed. “He plays on the power play, the penalty kill, and is just a very good all-around type of player.”

Juliano, an original member of the inaugural North Stars squad, scored 18 goals over 77 games with Traverse City, and had two goals with seven assists through 15 games this season. Hamway, who came to Traverse City from the now-defunct Billings Bulls, had a goal and nine assists in 16 games for the Stars, while Bidwill had posted career numbers through 17 games this season, scoring twice and amassing seven assists.

“I think it’ll be good for those guys to have a change of scenery,” Gardiner said. “They’re all very good players. We just had too many of the same kinds of players, and had to make a move. If it’s possible to have too much skill and not enough grit, that’s what we had.”

Saginaw Spirit News & Notes

During the month of October, the Saginaw Spirit were 9-1-0-0 overall, 6-0-0-0 at home. The team kicks off November with three games this week. Sault Ste. Marie will be the site of a Wednesday match-up against the Greyhounds, while Friday and Saturday will be home games against the Barrie Colts and Peterborough Petes, respectively.

The Spirit enter the upcoming series in first place in the West Division with 21 points and a record of 10-4-0-1.

Mursak Beats Team Record
Spirit forward Jan Mursak beat the team’s point streak record on Sunday following his assist on a Patrick McNeill goal. Mursak has had at least one point in the last 15 games, giving him the record that was previously held by former Spirit Nick Lees (14 games in the 2003-04 season) and Marek Kvapil (14 games in the 2004-05 season). So far this season, Mursak has notched 26 points, with nine goals and 17 assists. He also has the distinction of scoring at least one point in every game he has played in Spirit uniform.

OHL Leader Boards
Mursak (9G-17A-26PTS) is currently ranked sixth in OHL scoring, third in rookie scoring and ninth in assists.

Tom Pyatt is ranked third in goal scoring and eighth in overall scoring with 25 points (14G-11A).

McNeill is fifth in scoring for defenseman with 16 points (6G-10A).

Goaltender Ryan Daniels is ranked seventh in both goals-against average and save percentage with a GAA of 2.99 and save percentage of .913.

November 1, 2006
Wednesday at 7:00 PM
Away at the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds

For ticket and travel information, please visit www.saulttourism.com or call 1-800-461-6020.

The Greyhounds received good news last week in the form of center Jiri Tlusty. The Czech native and Toronto Maple Leafs' prospect was sent down from the AHL Toronto Marlies to join an already potent Greyhound offense that includes Dustin Jeffrey (14G-10A-24 PTS), Cody Thornton (7G-11A-18PTS) and David Kuchejda (3G-7A-10PTS). Josh Godfrey has not only been a constant presence on the defense, but on offense as well with 15 points (6G-9A). Starting goaltender Kyle Gadjewski (.888 save percentage) had a shutout in last weekend’s game against the Peterborough Petes. The Spirit, who have a 11-19-1-0 record against the Greyhounds since 2002, will face-off against the Greyhounds in the newly built Steelback Centre.

November 3, 2006
Friday at 7:11 PM
Home vs the Barrie Colts

For ticket information, please visit www.saginawspirit.com or call 989-497-7747.

Bryan Little (15G-18A-33PTS) is back to lead the Colts in what is shaping up to be a successful season. Right behind him in scoring production is Hunter Tremblay (8G-14A-22PTS) and Andrew Marshall (3G-15A-18PTS), followed by Richard Clune (8G-9A-17PTS) and Tomas Marcinko (6G-6A-12PTS). On defense is Marshall (3G-15A-18PTS), Tyson Aitcheson (4A-4PTS) and Blake Parlett (1G-3A-4PTS). ADT CHL Goaltender of the Week (10/17/06) Andrew Perugini (.909 save percentage) has been starting for the Colts this season following the departure of Dan LaCosta.

The Spirit have a team record of 1-5-2-0 against the Colts since 2002.

November 4, 2006
Saturday at 7:11 PM
Home vs the Peterborough Petes

For ticket information, please visit www.saginawspirit.com or call 989-497-7747.

Saturday, the Spirit will host the Petes, who are looking for a rematch following their 5-3 loss to Saginaw on October 12. Leading the Petes’ offense is Daniel Ryder (11G-17A-28PTS), Steve Downie (6G-11A-17PTS) and Justin Soryal (9G-7A-16PTS). On defense, the Petes are counting on three overagers – former Plymouth Whaler Craig Cescon (2A-2PTS), Davin Welsh (2G-1A-3PTS) and Kyle Raftis (1G-10A-11PTS). Starting goalie Trevor Cann (.915 save percentage) is backstopping the Petes in net.

The overall record between the two teams since 2002 stands at 4-2-1-0.

Alpena heads to Ann Arbor to battle NTDP

The Alpena IceDiggers hit the road for two mid-week games to take on the USA Under-18 National Team tonight and the USA Under-17 National Team tomorrow night.

Both games will be played at the Ann Arbor Ice Cube and the puck will drop at 7:00 p.m. for both contests.

With the North Division standings tight, Alpena knows that these two games are very important for the first-place club.

"We have to go into these games and give a great effort in order to be successful," IceDiggers' coach-GM Kenny Miller said. "We will give it everything we got."

Alpena will need to get a balanced scoring attack like they have had the past four games.

"When we get scoring from all four lines and our defensemen, we have more success," noted Miller. "I am happy with how we are playing right now."

The IceDiggers are coming off a weekend where they played host to the Mahoning Valley Phantoms and lost 5-2 on Friday and 5-4 Saturday in a shootout. Saturday's shootout was a first for Alpena this season.

"On Friday we were not good and didn't deserve to win," Miller said. "On Saturday, I thought we outplayed them and had a few breakdowns and that cost us the extra point."

The IceDiggers are led by Nolan Craner and Todd Rudasill, who are still 1-2 in scoring in the NAHL. Veterans Ricardo Yesue and Erik Peterson are starting to heat up offensively. Peterson has scored six points in his last five games, while Yesue has added a goal and four assists in the last five contests.

The goaltending tandem of Shawn Hunwick and Mike Jarboe has played well for the 'Diggers so far this season in combing for 10 wins in 14 games.

Indians out to even Cup series with T'birds

The battle of the border continues on Saturday night when the Soo Indians play host to the Soo Thunderbirds.

Game time is 7:00 p.m. at Big Bear Arena in the Michigan Soo and the Indians will be out to avenge a 3-2 home-ice loss to the Thunderbirds from Oct. 22.

The Indians are in third place in the tight Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League standings with a 9-5 record and the Thunderbirds are sixth with an even 6-6 mark.

Saturday's game will be the second regular-season meeting between the crossriver rivals as part of the Carmen Provenzano Memorial Cup series.

"In that first game against us they played with a lot of energy and spirit," Indians' coach/general manager Jim Capy said of the Thunderbirds. "It was a very good game that could have gone either way and I am expecting more of the same on Saturday."

During that first game of the Provenzano Cup series, both Travis O'Brien of the Thunderbirds and Elliot Hogue of the Indians fashioned first-rate goaltending displays.

Saturday's game with the Thunderbirds is the back end of a two-game homestand for the Indians, who begin by playing host to the Sudbury Kal Tire Jr. Wolves on Friday at 7 p.m. at Big Bear. Sudbury is led by sniper Scott Restoule, formerly of the Ontario Hockey League's Soo Greyhounds.

From an Indians' offensive standpoint, Sean Farley is the points leader with 12-6-18 totals followed by Paul Isleib at 3-10-13, Chris Cooper at 4-8-12, Nick Novak at 1-10-11 and Derek Thocker at 6-4-10.

Defensively, the Indians have the two top ranked goalies in the NOJHL. Hogue has a .926 save percentage to go with a 2.42 goals-against average and 5-4 record. Brennan Poderzay has a .900 save percentage, 2.30 GAA and 4-0 record.

Rangers complete sweep of North Stars

For the second straight night, the Traverse City North Stars were flummoxed by the Hooveresque goaltending of Stephen Ritter, and for the second straight night the Marquette Rangers walked out of Centre ICE arena with a victory, this time a 4-2 triumph that sent the host Stars to a fifth straight defeat.

"The goalie stole one from us tonight and this time we outplayed them, outskated them, beat them to pucks, and should have won it," assessed North Stars head coach Scott Gardiner. "It was a better effort than Friday, but we're too good on paper not to be winning more than we are."

The loss dropped the Stars from a four-way tie for second place in the NAHL's North Division and into a tie with Team USA for fourth at 15 points. Alpena was swept at home by Mahoning Valley this weekend, so the IceDiggers' lead is down to four points over the Phantoms and Rangers.

"As the only new team in the NAHL this year, we have steadfastly stayed the course, building team chemistry and patiently waiting for our players to learn to play together," said Marquette general manager David Saint-Onge. "Although the season still has a long way to go, we're coming together as a team and expect to be in the hunt as the season progresses."

On Saturday, Kory Kaunisto got the North Stars on the board first, opening the scoring at 8:24 of the first period on an assist from Richie Zobak, before Neeco Belanger tied the contest less than five minutes later. Belanger was able to shake the cobwebs off following a game-opening bludgeoning at the hands of TC's Joe Greener.

Just over two minutes later, Nate Urbaniak converted a beautiful cross-ice pass from Travis Hamway and the Stars took a one-goal bulge into the first intermission. Sabastion Kimmel was also credited with an assist on the play.

Marquette got goals from Matt Tinordi (power play) and the eventual game-winner from Nic Weight in the second period, and Luke Bennett closed the scoring with an empty-netter in the final half-minute of play.

"That second goal in the second period was a weak one," Gardiner said. "We gave it up on a turnover that should have never happened. Other than those two mistakes, I thought we kept the pressure on them all night. We just couldn't put the puck in the net. But there are changes coming."

"Saturday was a character win with our bench being short because of an injury and a suspension," Rangers' head coach Leigh Mendelson said. "I am very pleased with our progress, though. Our forwards are starting to click and our team defense is continuing to make progress. We've been getting contributions from all four lines and our special teams have continued to be effective."

Ritter snuffed 25 of the 27 shots he faced, while his TC counterpart, Kyle Jendra, collected 24 attempted shots in his 58-plus minutes of action in net.

The North Stars travel to Mahoning Valley next weekend for a two-game series with the Phantoms before a home-and-home set with Alpena on Nov. 11-12.

Marquette continues their month-long road trip with two games this weekend against Fargo and then a trip to Mahoning Valley for a three-game series. The Rangers finally return to Lakeview Arena to take on Alpena Nov. 17-18.

Whalers go 1-2 on rough weekend

Former Whalers captain Jared Newman shakes hands with current Plymouth captain Steve Ward before Saturday's game with Kitchener. Rangers captain Jean-Michel Rizk is on the left.

The Plymouth Whalers beat Toronto on Friday night, but then fell to Kitchener and Saginaw to finish out the weekend.

Against Toronto at home, the Whalers rode Jeremy Smith's second straight shutout en route to a 3-0 victory and their third straight win. Chris Terry, Tom Sestito and James Neal scored for Plymouth. Smith stopped all 30 shots he faced as the game's first star.

John Murray made 43 saves Saturday as the Rangers blanked Plymouth, 3-0. Michal Neuvirth turned aside 38 shots for the Whalers. Before the game, Plymouth welcomed back former captain Jared Newman, who dropped a ceremonial faceoff to start the game and then signed autographs. Newman played for Plymouth from 1998-2002 and was captain from 2000-2002.

Yesterday in Saginaw, the Spirit soared into first place in the West Division following their 5-2 victory over the Whalers. The Spirit have been undefeated at home during the month of October. The team point streak record was broken by forward Jan Mursak when he earned an assist in the third period, giving him at least one point in the last 15 games. The record of 14 games was previously held by Nick Lees and Marek Kvapil.

Zack Torquato and Patrick McNeill scored two goals apiece and goaltender Ryan Daniels stopped 45 for Saginaw. Tom Pyatt also scored for the Spirit. Sestito and Steve Ward tallied for Plymouth, who got a 39-save outing from Smith.

The Whalers hit the road all of this week, playing in Ottawa Friday, Belleville Saturday and Kingston on Sunday. Plymouth’s next home game is Nov. 10 against Owen Sound.

Photo by Rena Laverty

Rangers out and about in community

Marquette Rangers' staff and players were in attendance at the Celebrity Waiter dinner this past Thursday in Kingsford. Representatives from Debbie Stabenow’s office, Artic Blast football players and USOEC boxers and wrestlers were among the “celebrities” that waited tables and entertained with the Rangers.

Courtney Fisk (Rangers PR) gathered celebrity athletes in attendance and raised $50.00 as the players built themselves into a human pyramid. Rangers were able to contribute a significant amount of tips to the benefit because of the pyramid, waiting tables and donating Rangers’ apparel. A Rangers T-shirt was auctioned (retail value $20.00) and sold for $45.00 thanks to the winning bid from David and Kathleen Engelman of Iron Mountain, whose daughter plays for the girls U-19 Iron Rangers.

The dinner benefited the Caring House and Domestic Violence Shelter in honor of Domestic Violence Awareness month.

After their return from a weekend series in Traverse City, all 23 Rangers will be volunteering at the YMCA for their annual Halloween party. Monday, 10 players will be in Munising for a Skate with the Rangers clinic.

Photo:
Front row: Dustin Partacz; Marlene Mottes, Caring House Board Member; Courtney Fisk, Rangers’ Public Relations; Cheryl O'Niel, Caring House Director
Back row: Jacob Hauswirth; Nic Weight; Richard Tegge, Rangers’ Director of Hockey Operations

DeVos accepts Spirit invitation to drop puck

The Saginaw Spirit, in partnership with Davenport University, confirmed yesterday that gubernatorial candidate Dick DeVos will show his Spirit at the Friday, November 3 home game. DeVos will meet fans as they enter the arena and then participate in a ceremonial puck drop at 7:11 p.m.

The Spirit recently extended an invitation to both DeVos and incumbent Jennifer Granholm to be honored at a Spirit game. The Granholm organization has expressed interest in coming to a future Spirit game and is in discussions with the Spirit organization to arrange a date.

"The Saginaw Spirit is thrilled to have gubernatorial candidate Dick DeVos bring his campaign out to a game," stated Spirit managing partner Craig Goslin. "We are hoping that Governor Granholm is able to make an appearance as well. We are hoping to see our fans come out to personally meet the candidate of their choice and show their support."

IceDiggers host Phantoms this weekend

For the first time this season, the Alpena IceDiggers (10-3-0) will play host to the Mahoning Valley Phantoms (6-7-1) at Northern Lights Arena. The two teams will tangle on Friday and Saturday with both games set for 7:00 p.m.

The IceDiggers and Phantoms play a total of 16 times during the 2006-07 season.

With these two games, the Phantoms are finishing up a road trip that has consisted of 16 straight games away from the Ice Zone in Boardman Ohio. The IceDiggers are playing their fifth and sixth home games of the year and are currently 4-0 inside the NLA.

With the Phantoms coming to town, Alpena head coach Kenny Miller and his team know they will have to be on their game in order to come away with two victories.

"We are going to have to be at our best in order to win," Miller said. "They have a veteran team and their record is not an indication of what type of team they are. As for our team I feel this group is as good as any we have ever had since joining the league in 2003."

Mahoning Valley, led by head coach Bob Mainhardt, currently sits in fifth place in the North Division seven points behind the first-place IceDiggers.

Alpena is coming off a two-game road sweep of cross-state rival Traverse City (7-7-1) .

The IceDiggers currently have the best power play in the NAHL with a 21.37 % efficiency rate. Alpena has scored 28 goals on the man advantage. Mahoning Valley ranks sixth in the league with a 15.25 % rating in scoring 18 power-play goals. On the penalty kill, the IceDiggers rank eighth among the 17 teams with a 86.36 clip and Mahoning Valley currently has the worst penalty kill percentage in the NAHL with a 78.99 rating.

NEWS AND NOTES:

BROADCAST:
Courtesy of the Mahoning Valley Phantoms and play-by-play announcer Ron Rinaldi, fans can log onto http://www.mvpphantoms.com/ and listen to both games this weekend. The broadcast will begin at 6:45PM each night.

SCORERS:
Alpena IceDiggers forwards Nolan Craner and Todd Rudasill are currently one and two in NAHL scoring. Craner leads the NAHL with 10 goals (six on the power play) and 17 assists for 27 points. Rudasill is second among skaters with 10 goals (five on the power play with three game-winners) and 15 assists for 25 points. Linemate Drew Pierson leads the NAHL in power-play goals with seven and also has 17 points on the season.

GOALTENDERS:
Shawn Hunwick has won seven games for Alpena in nine starts, Hunwick has a 2.67 goals-against average with a .907 save percentage. Last week's North Division player of the week Mike Jarboe has won all three games he has started and currently has a 3-0 record with a 2.33 goals-against average with a .918 save percentage.

ROLLING:
Alpena forward Erik Peterson broke out of his scoring slump last weekend scoring a goal and adding three assists in the two-game sweep over Traverse City. Newcomer Mike DeGrazia added two points in the two wins last weekend by assisting on Peterson's goal Friday and scoring his first goal in an IceDiggers uniform Saturday. Austin Seiple recorded his first Junior A goal on Friday night.

ROSTER MOVE:
Rookie forward Ryan King has decided to leave the team. The IceDiggers' roster is now at 24 players.

INJURIES:
Veteran defenseman Korey O'Brien was injured in Saturday's 4-3 win in Traverse City and will be sidelined up to three weeks.

OPPONENTS:
Mahoning Valley is led offensively by Matt Quigley and Chris Fairbanks who both have 15 points in 14 games. Mike Fillinger is third on the team with 11 points in the 14 games the Phantoms have played. The Phantoms are led in goal by Ryan Zapolski and Bryce Merriam. Zapolski has a 5-5-1 record with a 4.17 GAA, while Meriam has played in four games and has a 1-2-0 record with a 3.82 GAA. Both goalies have identical save percentages at .868.

North Stars’ Nagorsen commits to WMU

Next year’s CCHA schedule could well read like a Traverse City North Stars reunion tour.

With Stars captain Patrick Nagorsen committing to Western Michigan University this week, he joins former North Stars Steven Oleksy and Eric Elmblad, who are already at Lake Superior State and Michigan, respectively, in what could be a four-sided Central Collegiate Hockey Association rivalry in 2007-08. Current North Stars forward Kory Kaunisto is committed to Northern Michigan, but could also opt for another year of junior hockey before heading to Marquette.

Nagorsen, who was given preferred walk-on status at Western– which means his roster spot is guaranteed with the potential to earn a scholarship – eschewed potential scholarships from a number of NCAA Div. I and III suitors to realize a long-awaited goal.

“It’s always been my dream to play in the CCHA, to play versus Michigan and Michigan State,” said the Novi product, who leads Traverse City in scoring this season with five goals and seven assists through 15 games. “Plus, I’ll be close to home where my family can come and watch, and it’s a great school with a great business school. I’ve thought past hockey and tried to plan for my future.”

Nagorsen, who prepped at Orchard Lake St. Mary’s and powered the Eaglets to the 2005 MHSAA state championship, also led the 2005-06 North Stars in scoring with 17 goals and 25 assists. He has also served as one of the franchise’s front men, serving as assistant captain last year and as captain this season, appearing on the cover of the team’s yearbook, and even on the cover of the region’s AT&T Yellow Pages book.

“We’re all very happy for him,” said North Stars head coach Scott Gardiner. “Patrick worked hard to get to the CCHA, and he knows he has to continue to do that now that he has his commitment.

“He’s just been a great leader for us, a skilled player with speed and skill and a great work ethic. Western’s getting a good one.”

When he lands in Kalamazoo for the 2007-08 season, Nagorsen will find some familiar faces in the Broncos locker room, including a pair of former NAHL foes in goalie Riley Gill (Texarkana Bandits) and defenseman Tyler Ludwig (Texas Tornado), both of whom faced off against Nagorsen four times each last year. Nagorsen also looks forward to future meetings with his TC brethren – at least until the first puck drops.

“It would be a lot of fun. Kory and I actually talked about it,” Nagorsen said. “But when you go out on the ice, you don’t really have any friends, so I’d have to look out for Kory. It’d be great to see through my four years there (at WMU) how many former North Stars players I’ll play with and against.”

North Stars trade for TC native

Late last week, Mike Glaesmer asked Bay State Breakers' coach David McCauley for his unconditional release from the Eastern Junior Hockey League club. He wanted to come home.

While Traverse City North Stars head coach Scott Gardiner worked feverishly to acquire his North American Hockey League rights from the Alaska Avalanche, Glaesmer became restless. By Tuesday, he could take no more. Glaesmer packed up his car and started the long road trip from Rockland, Mass. to Traverse City.

He finally got the call that the trade had been arranged somewhere between Syracuse and Buffalo.

“I just couldn’t wait any longer,” said Glaesmer, who scored 21 goals for Traverse City West H.S. in 2001-02 en route to a berth on the Record-Eagle All-Region team. “I had a feeling it would get done. I’m so excited to get to play my last year of juniors at home in front of my family and friends. I can’t wait to get out there and get to it.”

The Avalanche let go of Glasemer’s rights for a player to be named at a later date after a lengthy series of negotiations.

“We’re glad to finally get it done and get Mike back here,” Gardiner said. “We think he can come in right away and be a major contributor. He’s a big body with good speed and a scoring touch, and he can play anywhere on the power play or penalty kill. We’re excited to finally get him in here.”

Glaesmer left Traverse City after his sophomore season with the Titans to play for the midget-AAA Marquette Electricians. After two years in the U.P., he went to the North American Hockey League’s Springfield (Mo.) Sprit, where he scored 12 goals and assisted on 10 others in 2004-05. The Spirit moved to Wasilla, Alaska before the 2005-06 season, and Glaesmer’s offensive totals also went north – he amassed 17 goals and 11 assists in 55 games last year for the Spirit.

After a year near the Arctic Circle, Glaesmer longed to be closer to home and family, but the Avalanche would not release his NAHL rights. The Stars and Avs exchanged proposals for what stretched into months. His NAHL status in limbo, Glaesmer took a turn with the Bay State Breakers of the junior-A Eastern Junior Hockey League, hoping the call would come from Gardiner. On Tuesday, it did.

This weekend, Glaesmer will don his familiar #28 sweater when the North Stars play host to the Marquette Rangers in a Friday-Saturday series. He will also line up across from a trio of former teammates, including the Rangers’ top two scorers in Nick Kosinski (4 goals, 11 assists) and Neeco Belanger (7 goals, 5 assists). The trio, along with Rangers defenseman Bret Larson, toiled together for the Electricians from 2002-2004.

“That’ll be a lot of fun, too,” said Glaesmer. “I really hope I can come in and contribute to what the North Stars have going. My dad (Kerry) is a North Stars season ticket holder, and he tells me they have a lot of skill and some depth, too. I hope to be able to come in and help out right away.”

When the North Stars and Rangers meet this weekend, the hosts are expected to have forward Aaron Pietila back in the lineup. The Brighton product has played in only eight games this year while weathering a bevy of ailments, but has been extremely productive, netting five goals and three assists in those games -- with four goals and three assists in his last three outings. Forward Alex Prough could also be available after suffering a concussion two weeks ago against Mahoning Valley.

“We have to get the effort this weekend, because we could really use all four points,” Gardiner added. “We haven’t been playing to our potential the last two or three games.”

Rangers take split in Bismarck

The Marquette Rangers split on the road in Bismarck last weekend.

Friday night, Nick Kosinski had two goals and an assist to go along with a goal and an assist from Iiro Junnila in the 5-4 loss. Brodie Zuk also scored and Matt Tinordi added two assists. Stephen Ritter stopped 23 shots in net.

Saturday night, the Rangers rebounded for a 7-2 victory. Ritter made 38 saves and Mike Macari (pictured) had a four-point game with two goals and two assists. Bret Larson, Neeco Belanger, Jake Hauswirth, Dustin Partacz and James Gallagher joined in the scoring barrage. Zuk and Jason Cohen each recorded two assists.

Marquette travels to Traverse City this weekend for two games with the North Stars.

Saginaw downs Attack, lose to Sting

Saginaw broke even last weekend with a loss in Sarnia and a win at home against Owen Sound.

Friday night, Jan Mursak and Zach Torquato scored in the 5-2 loss. Ryan Daniels and Jovica Zelenbaba combined for 24 saves.

"We are disappointed with the loss, but pleased that the team never gave up and played hard in the third period," stated Spirit coach-GM Bob Mancini. "However, it is important to put this behind us."

Ryan McDonough (pictured) scored twice in Saturday's 6-3 win over Owen Sound at home. Ryan Berard, Tom Pyatt, Tomas Zaborsky and Chris Chappell also tallied to back Daniels' 48-save performance.

With an assist on Pyatt's goal, Mursak has a point in all 13 games this season.

The Spirit host Toronto Saturday night and Plymouth Sunday afternoon.

IceDiggers complete sweep of North Stars

The Alpena IceDiggers went into Traverse City looking for a split and came back to Alpena with a weekend sweep after a 6-3 win on Friday and a 4-3 come-from-behind win on Saturday.

Netminder Mike Jarboe (pictured above) collected back-to-back wins making 23 saves on Friday and 29 on Saturday.

Austin Seiple picked up his first Junior A goal on Friday and newcomer Mike DeGrazia scored his first goal in an IceDigger jersey on Saturday.

On Friday, Todd Rudasill, Erik Peterson, Zach Barron, Drew Pierson, captain Nolan Craner and Seiple scored and Craner added a pair of assists.

Jared Mullen, Matt Hughes and Kory Kaunisto scored for the North Stars and Kyle Jendra stopped 25 shots in defeat.

Eric Roman scored the game-winner midway through the third period Saturday with singles coming from Ricardo Yesue, Justin Stadler and DeGrazia. Peterson notched three assists and Stadler added two.

Zach Hitch potted two goals for Traverse City and captain Patrick Nagorsen also tallied. Christopher Heineman picked up two assists and Stefan Shively made 33 saves.

The IceDiggers return to Northern Lights Arena on Friday and Saturday this weekend to play host to the Mahoning Valley Phantoms.

Traverse City hosts the Marquette Rangers this weekend at Centre ICE.

Dallas Stars sign James Neal

The Dallas Stars announced Saturday that the club has signed left wing James Neal to a three-year contract. Neal was Dallas' second-round selection (No. 33) overall in the 2005 Entry Draft.

Neal, 19, is currently playing with the Plymouth Whalers in the Ontario Hockey League, and through the first 10 games of the season, has posted nine goals and five assists for 14 points with 31 penalty minutes.

In 2005-06 with Plymouth, Neal notched 58 points (21 goals and 37 assists) and 109 penalty minutes in 66 appearances. Neal was named the OHL Player of the Week on Dec. 12, 2005, after recording six points (1 goal, 5 assists) in two games. In 13 OHL Playoff games a season ago, Neal recorded nine goals and seven assists for 16 points with 33 penalty minutes, earning Whalers' Playoff Most Valuable Player honors.

The Whitby, Ontario, native was honored as Plymouth's Rookie of the Year in 2004-05 after notching 18 goals and 26 assists for 44 points. He also played in the 2005 Home Hardware CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game in Vancouver in his first full season at the OHL level.

The 6-foot-3, 205-pound left wing attended the 2007 Team Canada National Junior Team development camp in Calgary, and won a silver medal with Team Canada at the 2005 World Under-18 Championships in the Czech Republic.

Sestito's hatter downs Battalion Saturday

A game-time decision to play Plymouth left wing Tom Sestito paid off handsomely for the Whalers last Friday night.

Sestito, who missed two games after being hit in the face by a Dan Collins shot last Friday in Erie in a 3-2 loss to the Otters, scored a hat trick and an assist in his first game back in a 6-3 victory over the Brampton Battalion at the Compuware Sports Arena.

His third goal was an empty-netter.

John Armstrong, Kaine Geldart and Evan Brophey also scored for Plymouth.

Whalers goaltender Michal Neuvirth stopped 37 Brampton shots as the game’s second star while recording his fourth win of the season.

Plymouth is off until Friday night when they host Toronto at 7:05 p.m. at the Compuware Sports Arena and Kitchener on Sat. Oct. 28 at 7:05 p.m.

Indians drop border battle to Birds

The Soo Indians lost the first battle of the border of the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League season Sunday night at Big Bear Arena, falling 3-2 to the Soo Thunderbirds.

The game also marked the opening of the Carmen Provenzano Memorial Cup series between the two teams.

Brett Perlini led the Thunderbirds with a goal and an assist and Kyle Johnson and Nick Minardi also beat Indians' goalie Elliot Hogue.

Sean Farley and Michigan Soo product Daren Mansfield scored for the Indians, who outshot their opponents 36-33. Travis O'Brien posted the win in goal for the Thunderbirds.

The win boosted the Thunderbirds' record to 6-4, while the Indians are now 8-5.

The Indians began the weekend with a 5-1 decision over the visiting Manitoulin Islanders on Saturday evening.

Chris Cooper scored a pair of goals to lead the Indians and Farley, James Ciotti and Derek Thocker added solo tallies in support of rookie goalie Brennan Poderzay, who made 26 saves to improve his record to 4-0, his save percentage to .900 and his goals-against average to 2.30.

Spirit and Whalers both win Thursday

Jan Mursak and Tom Pyatt each recorded hat tricks to lead the Saginaw Spirit to a 7-2 win over the Brampton Battalion last night in Saginaw.

Chris Chappell also scored for the Spirit and Ryan Daniels made 26 saves for the win. Former Saginaw goalie Aaron Rock stopped 39 for Brampton.

Saginaw plays in Sarnia tonight.

Across the Detroit River in Windsor, Jeremy Smith registered his first career shutout as the Plymouth Whalers beat the Spitfires, 4-0. Smith made 32 saves in the effort.

Evan Brophey scored twice and Dan Collins and captain Steve Ward tallied as well. James Neal chipped in with two assists.

Plymouth hosts Brampton tonight and TNA wrestler Christian Cage will be making an appearance to promote Sunday's Bound For Glory pay-per-view that takes place at the Compuware Sports Arena.

Jeremy Smith photo by Walt Dmoch.

Coming to Compuware tonight ...

http://www.plymouthwhalers.com/promotions.html