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July 20, 2005North Stars hope to firm up first rosterFinal tryout camp this weekend at Centre ICEByRecord-Eagle staff writer 
The Traverse City North Stars will hold their final tryout camp this weekend to determine the final 25 players for the inaugural squad. But the team is also hoping the end of the NHL lockout will have a trickle-down effect on Junior hockey, especially with the North Stars starting the season soon after the Detroit Red Wings finish training camp in Traverse City. "Hopefully, we'll be riding the coattails of some positive hockey news, finally," said North Stars coach and general manager Scott Gardiner. The team also has a good idea of its schedule, although the slate hasn't been given final approval from the North American Hockey League yet. The North Stars tentatively open the season the weekend of Sept. 23-24 at home against Alpena. The approximately 45 players at the invitation-only camp will be split into three teams for games Friday evening and Saturday morning. The pool will then be trimmed down to about 30 players for a Blue-White game at 7 p.m. Saturday evening and more games Sunday morning starting at 9 a.m. "I wanted to go with two teams going head-to-head all weekend, but we kept seeing guys we wanted to see again," Gardiner said, "so we decided to go with three teams." The event is open and free to the public, as is a tailgate party on Saturday from 4:30-7 p.m. on the Republic Rink. Among the local players at the camp will be Alex Redmond of Traverse City, TC Central forward Eric O'Hearn, former TC Central and Enforcers standout Jake Erway, TC West forward Nick Greenman, Gaylord's Joe St. John, Cadillac's Nathan Peterson, and former GT Reps players Kyle Rowe, Scott Ponstein and Brian Banducci. "It'd be nice to stay home and play in front of people I know," Banducci said. Banducci, a defenseman, said he also has been invited to final tryout camps for teams in Toronto, but he'd stay in Traverse City if he makes the North Stars roster. "I think I played solid and didn't make mistakes," he said of his performance in the Stars' earlier tryout camp that determined who was invited back. "That's what I hope to do again this time." The team doesn't have a goaltender on its roster yet, as third-round draft pick Kyle Jendra of Chicago is trying out for the Plymouth Whalers of the Ontario Hockey League. Gardiner said Jendra told him that he would play for the North Stars if he doesn't make the Whalers. The North Stars do have three goaltenders in this weekend's camp fighting for spots on the team. Jeremy Kaleniecki played for the Toledo Wolfpack in the Continental Elite Hockey League two years ago and at Robert Morris College last season, while Ryan Donavan played for Pinckney High School and Stephan Shivley was between the pipes for the Cleveland Barons AAA Midget team. Kaleniecki (5-7, 160) played for Toledo when Gardiner was coaching the Traverse City Enforcers in the CEHL, so he had seen enough of the netminder to invite him to the camp. Second-round pick Daniel Lawson also did not sign with the North Stars, opting to play for the Chicago Steel of the United States Hockey League and tendered player Jon Madden of Howell has not yet committed to TC. Gardiner said he is also looking to make some trades to pick up some more veteran players for the upcoming season, using draft picks, tenders and cash as trade bait.
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