North Stars cap record breaking season

The Soo North Stars' 2003/2004 regular season can be classified as nothing but amazing.

The team dominated the opposition in the Great North Midget League all season long in all facets of the game to etch their name in the league record book and gain the comforts of home ice advantage throughout the playoffs.

The team closed out the regular season on the weekend with a pair of victories over the Valley East Consbec Cobras including a 5-2 win on Saturday and a 6-1 decision on Sunday at Memorial Gardens.

Valley East will make the trek back to the Sault next weekend as the two teams will meet in the first round of the GNML playoffs.

On Sunday, the North Stars broke open a 2-1 game with three goals in a two minute span early in the second period to secure the win. Michael Sharp, who opened the scoring in the first period on the power play, started the second period scoring assault before Michael D'Agostini and Paul Dupont gave the North Stars a 4-1 lead.

Matt D'Agostini and Lucas Goodall on the power play also scored for the North Stars. Tyler Gendron added three assists while Goodall recorded a pair. Ryan Shaw scored the lone goal for Valley East on the power play.

"A key for us this weekend was to stay away from injuries and unfortunately (Zack) Torquato went down and we don't know what his status is right now," said North Stars head coach Mike Hall.

Torquato, one the team's top offensive players, went down with a shoulder injury early in third period after being hit with a clean open ice hit.

Before the game, the North Stars were presented with the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation trophy, symbolic of the GNML regular season championship, by Northern Ontario Hockey Association president Fred Sadowski.

On Saturday, Matt D'Agostini, Frank D'Addetta, Kyle Rodgers, Michael D'Agostini and Matt Caria scored a goal each while Sharp added two assists. Michael Maulucci recorded the win in net.

With the wins, the North Stars finish the regular season with 32 wins, two losses and two overtime losses for 66 points in 36 games and put their names on top of several categories in the GNML record book.

"If you look back at our entire season, the kids did an incredible job. To go as long as they have since September and to only lose two games in regulation is really an amazing feat. But we just said to them after the game that the records are great and everything but tomorrow everyone is even again," said Hall.

With 32 wins, the North Stars tie the 1992/93 Soo Legion squad and the 96/97 New Liskeard Cubs for most victories in a season. With 66 points, the North Stars erase the old record of 65 set by the same Legion and Cubs teams.

The North Stars also spanked the record for fewest goals against having allowed only 87 goals. The mark breaks the old standard of 96 set by the 92/93 Legion midgets.

The goaltending duo of Maulucci and Travis O'Brien set the record for the best team goals against average with a 2.42 GAA breaking Legion's mark of 2.67.

On an individual level, Maulucci nearly obtained the league record for best goals against average but finished just behind Willie Ciccone, who set the mark in 2001/02 with Timmins with a 1.82 average, at 1.86.

"The players stayed focused and that is to their credit," said Hall. "We clinched the regular season a month before the season was over and it would have been easy for them to not play as hard. But there is a lot of pride in that room, there were some records that were achievable and they worked hard to get them."

Michael D'Agostini led the team in scoring with 23 goals and 42 assists for 65 points and finished just two points behind Rayside Balfour's Al Joanette for the league scoring title. D'Agostini's 42 assists led the league

Sharp finished right behind with 28 goals and 36 assists for 64 points, Matt D'Agostini scored 36 goals, to lead the league, and added 23 assists for 59 points while Caria record 56 points on 23 goals and 33 assists and Torquato notched 19 goals and 37 assists for 56 points.

With the regular season complete and the records in the books, the North Stars will now turn their attention to a run towards a GNML championship and a trip to the Air Canada Cup playdowns.

The North Stars open the best-of-five quarterfinal series with the eighth place Cobras, which finished with a 9-26-0-1 record for 19 points, next weekend with a pair of games back at the John Rhodes Community Centre.

Game one is scheduled for Saturday at 7 p.m. and game two is slated for Sunday at 1 p.m. The series then shifts back to Val Caron for game three on Feb. 20 at 8:20 p.m. and game four, if necessary, on Feb. 21 at 8:20 p.m.

"We're pretty confident going in but who knows in a short series. A hot goaltender can change things quickly but as long as we can stay healthy, I think that will be the key," said Hall.

In other GNML quarterfinal series, second place New Liskeard will meet seventh place Rayside Balfour, third place Kapuskasing battles sixth seeded Sudbury Lockerby and fourth place Timmins faces fifth place Kirkland Lake.

PHOTO: Regular season championship presentation. From left to right, Kyle Rodgers, Michael Sharp, Adam Kauppi, Fred Sadowski, Michael D'Agostini and Tyler Lannigan.