TRAVERSE CITY -- The season is winding down, and for the first time in awhile, that means the Traverse City North Stars are thinking about the playoffs.
"It's nice to be talking about the playoffs," coach/general manager Anthony Palumbo said.
The team has a crucial weekend coming up that will go a long way in determining the exact seed TC will earn once the postseason starts up in early April.
The Stars host the Team USA U-17s for two games on Friday and Saturday, then travel to Alpena on Sunday.
With Traverse City and USA -- who are both still technically in contention for the division lead -- duking it out to see who more realistically gets the second and third seeds in the divisional round, the two meetings at Centre ICE this weekend will help determine if there will be two or three games slated here for their playoff series.
"The guys are excited about clinching a spot," Palumbo said. "That was one of our goals, but we've got others. It was nice getting that 'X' and now we move on to our next goal, which is to win our first playoff series."
NAHL playoffs series usually run in a 2-2-1 format, with the higher-seeded team hosting games 1,2 and 5. Teams can agree to alter the format due to travel considerations.
Team USA is tied with the North Stars with three games in hand.
USA is 16-8-2 on the road this season.
Traverse City -- with five games remaining -- gained a lot of momentum with last weekend's series win at first-place Mahoning Valley, a place where TC has had a tough time winning. It was the Stars' first series win on the Phantoms' ice.
The weekend started with a 9-2 blowout loss, but the Stars put the pieces back to together to record 4-1 and 3-2 victories as Kyle Bonis scored the game-winner in both victories.
"What was really pleasing about that weekend is we bounced back from a really bad game on Friday," Palumbo said. "We had to dedicate ourselves to a more team game and we did that. That makes you a harder team to play on the road. That loss really got us focused on what it takes to be successful.
"We know we can go do what it takes to win in another team's building. But, on the other hand, we have to remember why we lost a game 9-2."
ONE SPOT LEFT: The North Division's fourth playoff spot is the only one unclaimed.
Alpena and Marquette are fighting for that berth, with Alpena currently holding a three-point lead with two games in hand.
However, the IceDiggers have only one of their final six games at home and play the division's top three teams in all of those contests, including a two-game series against the Team USA U-18s this weekend.
Marquette had four games left -- but all of those are at home, including a two games with last-place Motor City and a regular-season-ending two-game set against Traverse City on March 27-28.
Whoever sews up that fourth spot will likely play Mahoning Valley in the first round of the playoffs, barring a Phantoms total collapse down the stretch.
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