MUSKEGON, Michigan (November 29th) – It was a rare night to forget this season for the Muskegon Lumberjacks as they fell victim to a big second period from the visiting Green Bay Gamblers that included three power play goals along with two shorthanded goals en route to a 7-2 road victory tonight in the first meeting between the two teams this season at the L.C. Walker Arena. With the win, Green Bay pulls even with Muskegon for fourth place in the Eastern Conference standings.
The game started off scoreless for the better part of the opening period until the Gamblers (10-5-4, 22 points) took an early 1-0 lead with 1:56 remaining in the first period as Muskegon turned the puck over in their offensive that led to a two-a-one odd man rush in which Kevin Irwin threw a pass in front of the goal crease that was one-timed home on the backhand by Ryan Lough for his fifth goal of the season. Nick Schmaltz also helped on Lough marker.
Green Bay took their one goal lead into the first intermission in which they also outshot Muskegon through the first 20 minutes by an 11-5 margin and had the only power play opportunity in the period.
The second period was all about the Green Bay special teams as they laced three power play goals and two shorthanded goals that began at the 1:55 mark as Evan Tironese notched a five-on-three power play goal with five seconds left in the penalty to Chris Dodero for his fifth of the season that made it a 2-0 game. Jordan Gross and Schmaltz assisted on the Tironese marker.
Shortly after at the 2:39 mark, the Gamblers made it a 3-0 game with another power play tally from Lough for his second of the night and sixth of the season that was aided by Drew Best and Jake Linhart. Starting Lumberjacks netminder Eric Schierhorn (5-6-1) would be lifted for Jordan Uhelski following Green Bay’s third goal of the night.
Green Bay continued to apply the offensive pressure as they used their penalty kill to increase their lead to 4-0 at the 6:50 mark as Lough potted a breakaway marker for his hat trick and seventh of the season that was assisted by Tironese.
Exactly one minute later, the Gamblers tallied another shorthanded goal this time from Ryan Siroky for his fifth of the season that was helped by Dawson Cook. Later in the middle frame at the 11:31 mark, the Lumberjacks were again riddled with penalty trouble and Green Bay made them pay with another man advantage tally this time from Matthew Weis for his third of the year that was set up by Gross and Tironese.
The Lumberjacks (10-9-4, 24 points) were able to break the shutout with 59 seconds left in the second period as Trevor Morbeck ripped his eighth goal of the season off a faceoff win from Mason Jobst in the right faceoff circle to make it 6-1 Green Bay.
The Gamblers took their five-goal lead into the final intermission while still winning the shot battle by a 26-16 margin with 20 minutes still to play.
Green Bay continued to extend their lead as they made it a 7-1 game at the 2:28 mark from Weis for his second of the night and fourth of the season that was helped by Gross.
After numerous penalties were tallied against both sides for the majority of the final frame, the Lumberjacks were able to score another goal at the 16:31 mark with a three-on-three tally from Carson Gatt for his third of the season off a rebound given up by Jared Rutledge (10-4-2) on the book door after he stopped a slap shot from Matt Iacopelli with the right pad.
The game would end there as the Gamblers outshot the Lumberjacks on the night by a 38-29 margin, and Jared Rutledge made 27 saves on the night for his tenth win of the season. Eric Schierhorn took the loss allowing three goals on 15 shots before being pulled for Jordan Uhelski, who made 19 saves in his almost two periods of work. Green Bay’s offense was led by Ryan Lough (three goals), Evan Tironese (one goal and two assists), and Jordan Gross (three assists) with three points each. Muskegon falls to 1-2-1 against Green Bay this season with two meetings left at the L.C. Walker Arena.
The Lumberjacks and Gamblers will lock horns again tomorrow night at the L.C. Walker Arena with the puck drop slated for 7:15 pm to conclude their three-game series this week.
Tomorrow’s game will feature Military Night sponsored by Sport Clips where veterans and active military will receive a special $8 ticket at the door with valid military credentials. In addition, $3 out of every ticket sold to a veteran or active military member will be donated to the “Help a Hero” Foundation. Lastly, any veteran or active military personnel can stop by the Sport Clips on Harvey Street in Muskegon at any time before Saturday’s game and receive a free pair of tickets to the game with valid military credentials.
Additionally, our Subway Saturday promotion returns, where if the Lumberjacks beat the Gamblers tomorrow night, 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.
