North Stars open season with a win

The Soo North Stars began their chase for a third consecutive Great North Midget League championship on Saturday with a win on opening night.

Backed by a three goal performance from Derrek Coccimiglio and a solid effort from Jerry Petingalo, the North Stars doubled up the Valley East Cobras 4-2 at the John Rhodes Community Centre.

The two teams will hook up again on Sunday at 1 p.m. at the Rhodes.

"It was a typical early season game," said North Stars head coach Mike Hall. "Both teams gave a good effort but both teams were a little disorganized. Sometimes they took the flow to us and sometimes we took it to them.

"I thought Jerry Petingalo was our most consistent player for three periods."

Coccimiglio and Petingalo gave the locals a 2-0 lead in the first period with a pair of breakaway goals. Coccimiglio's scored his second of the night in the middle period.

Despite trailing 3-0, the Cobras battled back in the third period as Alex Fiset and Scott Faulkner connected 2:06 apart to trim the lead to a goal.

But the North Stars, who have allowed only six goals in three games including exhibition, closed the door the rest of the period defensively while Coccimiglio backhanded a loose puck into an empty cage late in the frame to seal the win and his hat trick.

Returnee Ryan Dube collected the win in goal and turned in a solid effort.

With the North Stars featuring another talented group of players, Hall figures his biggest job will be making sure that the work ethic is there for every game.

"We have a talented group of kids here and if you work hard the results will come. That is the biggest thing we are stressing with them right now. Talent doesn't win you games but effort does.

"We expect to contend every year but it's hard to say where we stand right now. It's all up to the 19 guys in the dressing room. Kirkland Lake and New Liskeard are returning quite a few and so is Timmins but they struggled last year. It is also a young league with a lot of 15 year-olds so it will be a league that scouts will love to watch."

The locals will be playing much of the first two months of the season on the road with their next home stand not scheduled until October.

"We design our own schedule and we do that on purpose to get the long road trips out the way. We don't want to be making long trips to Kapuskasing and that in the middle of winter. It's also good for team building."