North Stars force Game 5

BY JAMES COOK
jcook@record-eagle.com

April 10, 2009 12:00 am

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TRAVERSE CITY -- One way or the other, Mahoning Valley was headed back to Youngstown.

The Phantoms just hoped the Traverse City North Stars weren't going there as well.

The North Stars rang up a convincing 4-2 win in Game 4, sending the North Division playoff series to a deciding Game 5 on Sunday on Mahoning's home ice.

"It's dead even and it's been dead even all year," TC head coach Anthony Palumbo said of the matchup between the two teams. "I'm not surprised a fifth game is going to decide this."

The Kyles were at it again for Traverse City, with Kyle Jean scoring the game-winner late in the second period and Kyle Bonis striking just seven seconds into the third period.

The North Stars never trailed, and controlled much of the third period both territorially and physically.

"We've got to have that same intensity for Sunday," said forward Jarrod LaBelle, who earned the game's No. 1 star for the first time this season. "We hit them and they fell apart. We've got to keep it physical."

LaBelle put TC up 2-1 just over two minutes into the second period, intercepting a clearing pass from goaltender Garrett Bartus, skating around the sprawling netminder who came far out of his crease and then getting by a defenseman before depositing it in the empty net for a short-handed goal.

"I tried dancing around a couple guys and lost it, but got lucky and got it back and buried it," LaBelle said.

"He showed a lot more patience that I would have showed to score that one," Palumbo said. "But he was able to put it home.

"Jarrod played really well. He blocked two or three shots on the penalty kill that were huge. It was good to see Kyle Jean play well. He had been struggling in the series. He had his best game of the series. I saw him create more offense, which we need him to do. And C.J. (Motte) made a couple big saves in the third to preserve the win."

Mahoning Valley answered LaBelle's goal with a power-play one-timer by Stefan Salituro two minutes later.

The came Jean's highlight-reel goal with 3:17 left in the second.

The lanky winger deked one defender and split two others by passing it between their legs before slipping a shot through Bartus' pads.

"I saw a space between the D and faked the shot and was able to skate through," Jean said. "I got lucky on the shot. I fanned on it, but got lucky. I thing he was expecting me to shoot it hard, but I barely even hit it."

Bonis ripped a slapshot from the left circle after the Stars won the third period's opening face-off and defensemen Mike Schenfeld and Tyler Stephens were able to move the puck around and find Bonis speeding up the left side.

"When you get a goal that early in the period, it really takes the momentum out of Mahoning," Jean said. "If you can do that right away, then that's key. Then we just boarded off the rest of the game and they couldn't do anything.

The Stars controlled much of the third period, often looking like they were on the power play when they weren't.

"We kept establishing the forechecks throughout the game and all our lines gave us good energy," Palumbo said. "We didn't back off, like we have a tendency to do. We kept attacking. And as a result, we were able to keep it in their zone for most of the third."

The third period got a little chippy, as the Phantoms were whistled for seven penalties in the last 12:19. Salituro was given a 10-minute unsportsmanlike conduct and spent the rest of the game watching from the concourse because Mahoning's locker room was locked.

"That's playoff hockey," Palumbo said. "It's the fourth game in eight days, and you start getting on each other's nerves. (IN Game 3), the got under our skin and we took some bad penalties. And toward the end of the game, they gave us a chance to put it away by taking a couple penalties."

The Stars almost blew the game wide open on several occasions.

Dean Pawlaczyk hit the crossbar with six minutes left and the referees blew a play dead when Bartus clearly didn't have the puck and it was sitting in the crease -- the second time that happened in the game.

Eric McLintock gave the Stars an early 1-0 lead when he pounced on a rebound for the Stars' first shot on goal 4:56 into the game. Jean and Stephens drew assists.

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