MUSKEGON, Michigan (December 6th) – The puck bounces just aren’t going to the way of the Muskegon Lumberjacks during their season-long four-game losing streak as the visiting Indiana Ice used a big second period on their special teams to hold off a game home squad tonight by a 4-3 final at the L.C. Walker Arena.  With the loss, the Lumberjacks fall to below the .500 mark for the first time this season.

The Ice (12-5-4, 28 points) snatched the game’s first goal of the night at the 10:16 mark from Tyler Pham for his fifth goal of the season as he was found open in between the faceoff circles off a feed from Adian Muir for a wide open goal to make it 1-0 in favor of the visitors.  Austin Kosack also helped on the Pham marker.

Later on in the opening frame, the Lumberjacks (10-11-4, 24 points) evened the game at 1-1 apiece at the 17:23 mark as Janik Moeser wristed his first career USHL goal from the left faceoff circle over Jason Pawloski’s (10-3-3) right shoulder that was assisted by Scott Pooley and Connor Hurley.

The score remained the same going into the first intermission with the Lumberjacks outshooting the Ice by an 11-7 margin.

Early in the second period, the Lumberjacks ran into some major penalty trouble as Adam Larkin was called for cross checking at the 1:26 mark followed by a seven-minute penalty assessed to Alex Toscano for fighting and was given a game misconduct in the process.

As a result, the Ice took advantage lacing a five-on-three power play goal at the 1:48 mark from Brian Pinho stuffing his fifth goal of the year on the backdoor past Eric Schierhorn (5-7-1) that was aided by Scott Conway and Kosack to give Indiana a 2-1 lead.

Shortly after, Muskegon ran into more penalty issues as Carson Gatt was called for checking from behind and given a ten-minute misconduct at the 3:22 mark, and Indiana made the Lumberjacks pay with another five-on-three marker at the 4:44 mark from Patrick Newell with a wrist shot from between the faceoff circles for his fourth marker of the season to make it a 3-1 game.  Jake Cass and Joshua Jacobs assisted on the Ice’s second man advantage tally of the night.

After Muskegon had finally erased all their penalty trouble and were about to go on a power play, Indiana would score a shorthanded goal from Jason Salvaggio at the 8:44 mark with a wrist shot from the left faceoff circle that beat Schierhorn on the short blocker side to make it 4-1 in favor of the visitors.  Pinho and Chris Martenet helped on the fourth goal by the Ice tonight.

The Lumberjacks were not going to go away quietly as they sliced the deficit to 4-2 at the 11:43 mark with a shorthanded tally from Robbie DeMontis beating Pawloski on the short side top shelf after careening down the near side boards from right to left that was assisted by Tommy Panico and Pooley.

Minutes later at the 15:01 mark, Muskegon made it a 4-3 game with a power play strike from Trevor Morbeck for his ninth goal of the year beating Pawloski on the far blocker side on a snap shot from the right faceoff circle that was assisted by Mason Jobst and Matt Iacopelli.

The wild second period concluded with Indiana holding the one goal lead and Muskegon edging the Ice in the shot battle by a 21-20 margin.

The third period featured numerous scoring opportunities for the Lumberjacks in which they had three power play opportunities that included a six-on-four chance with 38 seconds left in regulation after pulling Schierhorn for the extra attacker, but were unable to find a way to notch the equalizer in the end.  The Lumberjacks outshot the Ice on the night by a 33-28 margin.

Jason Pawloski made 30 saves on the night to reach double digits in wins this season with ten, while Eric Schierhorn took another tough defeat stopping 24 shots on 28 faced for the game.  Indiana was led offensively by Brian Pinho (one goal and one assist) and Austin Kosack (two assists) with two points each, while the Lumberjacks were led by Scott Pooley with two helpers.  Muskegon falls to 1-1-0 against Indiana this season with six regular season meetings left between the two teams.

The Lumberjacks will complete their four-game homestand tomorrow night with a date against the rival Chicago Steel at 7:15 pm.

Tomorrow’s game will feature the annual Teddy Bear Toss Game presented by First General Credit Union.  Any fan that brings in a new or gently-used stuffed animal to the game will receive an Enter-to-Win slip to try and win a $50 gift card courtesy of First General Credit Union.  Also, any child that brings in a stuffed animal to throw onto the ice when the Lumberjacks score their first goal of the night will receive a free ticket to the game.  All stuffed animals that are collected will be delivered to local head start programs.

Additionally, our Subway Saturday promotion returns, where if the Lumberjacks beat the Steel 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.