CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (November 22nd) – In their first of two meetings this season at the Cedar Rapids Ice Arena, the Muskegon Lumberjacks and Cedar Rapids RoughRiders renewed acquaintances where the visiting Lumberjacks were able to strain out a point in due part to the solid goaltending of Eric Schierhorn as the host RoughRiders snagged the extra point in overtime coming away with a 3-2 victory tonight.
The Lumberjacks (9-7-4, 22 points) got off to a fast start in the game notching a goal at the 1:35 mark from Christopher Dodero for his fourth goal of the season as he found a loose puck in the left faceoff circle off a rebound given up by Danny Tirone (7-2-0) off a shot from Matt Mendelson in the right faceoff circle to make it a 1-0 game. Cooper Marody also assisted on the Dodero marker.
The score held into the first intermission with Eric Schierhorn (5-4-1) holding his own in net for Muskegon stopping all 25 shots that came his way in the first 20 minutes. The Lumberjacks had six shots in the opening frame.
The game cruised into the second half of the middle frame when the RoughRiders (12-3-1, 25 points) laced the equalizer at the 10:59 mark as Jack Rowe buried home his sixth goal of the season off a loose rebound in front of the net after a shot from Andrew Poturalski hit a few bodies in the slot and slid loose on the back door for the tip-in goal.
A few minutes later at the 16:47 mark, Cedar Rapids seized their first lead of the night at 2-1 as Dylan Steman flipped a backhand pass from the center ice logo behind the Muskegon defense and found Judd Peterson all alone on a breakaway in which he roofed his ninth goal of the season top shelf over Schierhorn.
The RoughRiders took that one shot lead into the final intermission while dominating the shot category by a wide 41-11 margin.
Early in the third period, the Lumberjacks took advantage of penalty trouble from Cedar Rapids and ripped a power play goal at the 3:15 mark from Matt Iacopelli for his team-leading 13th goal of the season as a shot from the right had eyes through traffic past Tirone’s glove side that was helped by Tommy Panico.
The rest of regulation featured solid goaltending and defense, and the game would trickle into an overtime session.
The host RoughRiders were able to get the last laugh in overtime with 1:59 to go in the four-on-four session as Poturalski found a wide open Corey Petrash on the back door at the Muskegon blue line and roped a wrist shot past a sprawling Schierhorn from between the faceoff circles for his fifth marker of the season and the game-winning goal. Cedar Rapids outshot Muskegon on the night, 48-21.
Danny Tirone made 19 saves on the game to earn his seventh victory of the season, while Eric Schierhorn stopped a season-high 45 shots in the overtime loss. Five players notched at least a point for both teams offensively with Andrew Poturalski leading all scorers with two assists for the RoughRiders. The Lumberjacks fall to 1-1-1 against Cedar Rapids this season with one regular season meeting left in Cedar Rapids in late February.
The Lumberjacks return home tomorrow night to take on the USNTDP Under-18 Team at 7:15 pm.
Tomorrow’s game features Star Wars Night, where all of your favorite Star Wars characters will be in attendance. Also, numerous activities will be located throughout the concourse such as being able to battle a Storm Trooper and a photo booth. All proceeds will be donated towards the Muskegon Lumberjacks Charitable Foundation.
Additionally, our Subway Saturday promotion returns, where if the Lumberjacks beat the USNTDP Under-18 Team, fans can redeem their ticket stubs at any participating West Michigan Subway location for a buy one six-inch sub, get another six-inch sub of equal or lesser value for free.
Individual game tickets are on sale for the low price of $10 for adults and $6 for children ages 3-12 if they are purchased before the day of the game. Tickets can be purchased at the Lumberjacks’ Box Office or by calling (231) 724-5225.
The exclusive radio home for the Muskegon Lumberjacks all season long is 92.5 FM WLAW “The Outlaw” as Bryan Fongers delivers the call beginning ten minutes prior to puck drop.
The proud home of all Muskegon Lumberjacks home games is the L.C. Walker Arena in downtown Muskegon located just minutes from the beautiful Lake Michigan Shoreline. Muskegon Lumberjacks hockey, “Experience the Buzz!”
The Muskegon Lumberjacks are proud members of the United States Hockey League, the nation’s only Tier I junior hockey league and the leading producer of NCAA players and National Hockey League draft picks in the United States. The Lumberjacks’ organization prides itself on developing not just premier hockey talent, but also exceptional young men outside the arena of sports. For more information, visit www.muskegonlumberjacks.com.
