MUSKEGON, Michigan (December 7th) – It wasn’t easy, but the Muskegon Lumberjacks were able to find a way late to gain a much-needed two points in the USHL standings as Scott Pooley and Matt Iacopelli both notched a pair of goals on the night including the overtime winner from Iacopelli to seize a 4-3 victory tonight over the Chicago Steel at the L.C. Walker Arena.

The Lumberjacks (11-11-4, 26 points) took control of the first 20 minutes of play grabbing a 2-0 lead into the first intermission that began at the 7:34 mark as Scott Pooley roped a spinning backhanded shot from the right faceoff circle past Steel netminder Chris Nell (6-13-1) for his seventh of the season that was assisted by Cullen and Connor Hurley.

Later in the opening frame at the 14:16 mark, Muskegon took a 2-0 lead courtesy of Matt Iacopelli as he wristed his team-leading 15th goal of the season past Nell’s glove side from the left faceoff circle that was assisted by Alex Toscano and Janik Moeser.

The Lumberjacks took their two-goal lead into the first intermission with the shots even at 14 apiece.

The second period saw only one goal potted, and it would be from the visiting Steel as former Lumberjack C.J. Smith laced a shorthanded goal past Jordan Uhelski’s (6-4-3) blocker side from the right faceoff circle for his eighth of the season to cut the deficit to 2-1 at the 4:45 mark.  Brendon Kearney and Connor McDonald helped on the shorthanded tally.

The score remained the same going into the second intermission with the shots still even at 23 each.

In the third period, the Steel (8-15-1, 17 points) were able to knot the game even at 2-2 at the 1:34 mark courtesy of a power play goal from Robbie Payne for his fourth of the season as he slammed home a rebound after a shot from the left point by John Ernsting was not handled properly by Uhelski in front of the net.  Kearney also helped on the man advantage marker from Payne.

Shortly after at the 5:05 mark, Chicago snagged their first lead of the night at 3-2 at the 5:05 mark as Smith continued to wreak havoc on his former team potting his second of the night and ninth of the season one-timing a goal home in the low slot off a feed from Artem Artemov on the left side of the Lumberjacks’ net.  Kearney also aided on Smith’s second goal of the evening.

In the waning moments of regulation, the Lumberjacks continued to pressure offensively, and it finally paid off with 2:16 to go as Scott Pooley banked one off Nell at the right side of the Chicago net for his second of the night and ninth goal of the season to even the game at 3-3 that was assisted by Connor Hurley and Trevor Morbeck.

Regulation was unable to decide the game, so it slid into overtime where the hosts decided that they did not want to go to a shootout as Iacopelli created a turnover in the Chicago offensive zone, careened down the far side boards and into the right faceoff circle, and snapped a shot through Nell’s five-hole for his second of the night and 16th of the season to capture the win that went unassisted with 13 seconds to go in overtime.  Muskegon outshot Chicago on the night by a 38-35 margin.

Jordan Uhelski stopped 32 of 35 shots on the night to earn his sixth victory of the season, while Chris Nell took the overtime loss making 34 of 38 saves for the Steel.  The Lumberjacks were led offensively by Matt Iacopelli (two goals), Scott Pooley (two goals), and Connor Hurley (two assists) with two points each.  The Steel were led offensively by C.J. Smith (two goals) and Brendon Kearney (two assists) with two points of their own.  Muskegon improves to 1-0-0 against Chicago this season with four regular season meetings left between the two squads.

The Lumberjacks will hit the road next weekend before the league-wide two-week holiday break hits against the Indiana Ice next Friday at 7:05 pm followed by a bout with the Chicago Steel next Saturday at 8:00 pm.

Following the break, the Lumberjacks will return home for the team’s only Sunday home game of the season on December 29th against the Youngstown Phantoms at 5:15 pm that will feature Car Load Night.  Fans can pile any number of people into one car for the low price of $40 that will include a ticket to the game along with a complimentary parking pass.

Individual game tickets will be on sale for the next three weeks for the December 29th home game 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.