North Stars on verge of championship sweep (4 photos added)

Soo North Stars coach Mike Hall does not want his players to get ahead of themselves, but he can understand if his players are a little more excited than normal at practice this week.

The North Stars are on the verge of winning the Great North Midget League championship over the Sudbury Nickel Capitals.

The North Stars opened the GNML championship with a pair of home ice victories over the weekend at the John Rhodes Community Centre. The locals began the series on Saturday night with a tight 2-1 victory before picking up a second straight victory on Sunday afternoon 4-1.

The Nickel Capitals kept the game close through two periods before the North Stars were able to pull ahead in the third period thanks to goals by Dean Howard and Dan Vernelli.

Adam Pyymaki, in the opening period, and Brett Perlini, with a second period marker, also scored for the North Stars. Vern Cooper scored the lone Sudbury goal. Nic Lang and Mark Hoffman had a pair of assists each in the win.

On Saturday, Vernelli and Brad DiCandia scored to give the North Stars a 2-1 victory in game one. Mark Baskcomb scored the lone Sudbury goal.

Despite the two-game lead, Hall noted that his team needs to focus on the task at hand.

"We've had two chances in game three's, one against Valley East and against Rayside and in neither game did we play well," said Hall about the momentum going into game three in Sudbury. "We need to be prepared. Sudbury's down, but their not out by any means. They're a good hockey team. Hopefully we can get an effort like today (Sunday) in game three.

"We've had great goaltending all year and we had the distinct honour of rotating goaltenders all year," added Hall. "We haven't had to go with one guy because both guys (Ryan Dube and Thomas Gravelines) have played incredible."

With the victories, the series now shifts to Sudbury's Countryside Arena. Game three is set for Saturday night, while game four, if necessary, will be the following night. Should a game five be needed, the game will be played at the John Rhodes Community Centre.

*** GNML FINALS:

(Soo leads series 2-0)

Game 1 - Sat. Mar. 18 - Soo 2 Sudbury 1 Game 2 - Sun. Mar. 19 - Soo 4 Sudbury 1 Game 3 - Sat. Mar. 25 - Soo vs. Sudbury * Game 4 - Sun. Mar. 26 - Soo vs. Sudbury * Game 5 - Wed. Mar. 29 - Sudbury vs. Soo

(* = if necessary)

GNML SEMI-FINALS:

1. SOO NORTH STARS vs. 4. RAYSIDE BALFOUR

(Soo wins series 3-1)

Game 1 - Sat. Mar. 4 - Soo 3 Rayside 1 Game 2 - Sun. Mar 5 - Soo 4 Rayside 0 Game 3 - Sat. Mar. 11 - Rayside 8 Soo 4 Game 4 - Sun. Mar. 12 - Soo 3 Rayside 2

2. SUDBURY vs. 3. NORTH BAY

(Sudbury wins series 3-0)

Game 1 - Sat. Mar. 4 - Sudbury 6 North Bay 3 Game 2 - Sun. Mar. 5 - Sudbury 3 North Bay 0 Game 3 - Sat. Mar. 11 - Sudbury 4 North Bay 3 (2OT)

QUARTERFINALS:

1. SOO NORTH STARS vs. 8. VALLEY EAST

(Soo wins series 3-0)

Game 1 - Sat. Feb. 18 - Soo 3 Valley East 0 Game 2 - Sun. Feb. 19 - Soo 7 Valley East 3 Game 3 - Fri. Feb. 24 - Soo 4 Valley East 1

2. SUDBURY vs. 7. KIRKLAND LAKE

(Sudbury wins series 3-0)

Game 1 - Sat. Feb. 18 - Sudbury 6 Kirkland Lake 2 Game 2 - Sun. Feb. 19 - Sudbury 4 Kirkland Lake 3 Game 3 - Sat. Feb. 25 - Sudbury 8 Kirkland Lake 3

3. NORTH BAY vs. 6. TIMMINS

(North Bay wins series 3-1)

Game 1 - Sat. Feb. 18 - Timmins 2 North Bay 0 Game 2 - Sun. Feb. 19 - North Bay 6 Timmins 1 Game 3 - Sat. Feb. 25 - North Bay 4 Timmins 0 Game 4 - Sun. Feb. 26 - North Bay 5 Timmins 3

4. RAYSIDE BALFOUR vs. 5. NEW LISKEARD

(Rayside wins series 3-2)

Game 1 - Sat. Feb. 18 - Rayside 5 New Liskeard 2 Game 2 - Sun. Feb. 19 - New Liskeard 3 Rayside 1 Game 3 - Fri. Feb. 24 - Rayside 5 New Liskeard 4 (OT) Game 4 - Sat. Feb. 25 - New Liskeard 7 Rayside 5 Game 5 - Wed. Mar. 1 - Rayside 7 New Liskeard 4

***

(Photos courtesy of Jim Egan.)