STARS ON ICE THIS WEEKEND

The Soo North Stars return to Great North Midget Hockey League action this weekend when they play host to the Valley East Cobras. Games are Saturday night (7 p.m.) and Sunday afternoon (1 p.m.) at John Rhodes Community Centre. With a record of 17-7-4-0, the North Stars are a very solid second in the nine-team Great North Midget Hockey League with eight games to play in the regular season. Six of the North Stars' final eight games are on home ice, including the two this weekend. Second-year forward David Turco leads the North Stars in scoring with 19-19-38 totals followed by rookie forwards Adam Combs at 18-10-28 and Michael Sharp at 12-14-26. Then it's Adam Kauppi at 9-16-25, Nick Tombari at 10-13-23 and Cory Sewell at 11-11-22, with a team-leading 192 minutes in penalties. North Star tenders Michael Maulucci and Travis O'Brien are ranked first and second among Great North goalies in goals-against-average. Maulucci has a 2.27 GAA in parts of 19 games, while O'Brien has played in 12 games and has a 2.89 GAA.