INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana (December 30th) – To conclude the 2013 calendar year, the Muskegon Lumberjacks picked a good time to distinguish their recent road woes as six different players laced at least one goal along with five earning multi-point efforts in knocking off the East-leading Indiana Ice by an 8-4 decision tonight at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.  With the road win, the Lumberjacks snap their season-long seven-game road winless streak.

The Lumberjacks (13-13-4, 30 points) wasted no time in getting on scoreboard first in the game grabbing a 1-0 lead at the 2:13 mark as Scott Pooley potted his 10th and first of two on the night from Christian Wolanin.  Shortly after at the 6:08 mark, Muskegon doubled their lead to 2-0 as Cooper Marody found a fortunate bounce while parked in front of the Indiana goal crease in which a loose puck hit off his leg and past Jason Pawloski (14-4-3) that was helped by Pooley and Robbie DeMontis.

The visiting Lumberjacks continued their early onslaught increasing their lead to 3-0 at the 7:44 mark of the opening frame as Matt Iacopelli roofed a breakaway goal on his backhand for his team-leading 20th goal of the season that was set up by Mason Jobst.  Just over a minute later, the Ice cut the deficit to 3-1 at the 8:56 mark as Denis Smirnov potted his 6th marker of the season that was assisted by Mitch Hults and Dwyer Tschantz.

The scoreboard read the same into the second period that featured Muskegon scoring three more goals to jump out to their biggest lead of the night at 6-1 going into the final 20 minutes.  Beginning at the 2:26 mark of the middle frame, Connor Wood ripped his first career USHL goal with a wrist shot beating Pawloski short side over his glove that was aided by Trevor Morbeck and Chaz Switzer.

Later in the second at the 11:37 mark, Matej Paulovic one-timed a power play goal from the low slot for his first career USHL goal that was assisted by Iacopelli and Jobst followed by Pooley’s second of the night and 11th marker of the season at the 15:34 mark that was set up by Matt Mendelson.  After Pooley’s second of the evening, Pawloski would be pulled in favor of Samu Perhonen.

In the third period, the Ice (16-6-4, 36 points) tried to mount a furious comeback scoring a trio of goals within a span of 3:41 to make it a 6-4 game in favor of the Lumberjacks.  Beginning at the 3:06 mark, Patrick Newell fired a rebound power play goal to the right of Eric Schierhorn (7-7-1) for his 6th goal of the season that was helped by Smirnov and Jason Salvaggio with Perhonen pulled.  Minutes later at the 6:27 mark, the Ice scored another extra attacker marker this time from Smirnov for his second of the game and 7th of the year that was helped by Austin Kosack and Tyler Andrew.

Just 20 seconds later, Indiana continued their momentum surge making it a two-goal game courtesy of Joe Sullivan as he netted his 4th goal of the season that was aided by Andrew and Salvaggio.

However, the Lumberjacks would take the air right out of the building as Iacopelli ripped his second of the night and 21st of the season at the 11:38 mark off a faceoff win by Jobst in which the puck slid right to Iacopelli, who roped a wrist shot past Perhonen’s glove side while clanging off the left (far side) post to give Muskegon their three-goal lead back.

After that, Muskegon capped off the 8-4 road victory by potting an empty net shorthanded marker from Christian Wolanin for his second of the season and first as a Lumberjack that was assisted by Morbeck.  Indiana would outshoot Muskegon for the evening by a 40-28 margin.

Eric Schierhorn earned his second consecutive victory between the pipes for the Lumberjacks stopping 36 of 40 shots, while Jason Pawloski took the loss for the Ice allowing six goals on 17 shots in his almost two periods of work.  In is one-plus period of relief work, Samu Perhonen stopped 9 of 10 shots for Indiana.  Muskegon was led offensively by Matt Iacopelli (two goals and one assist), Scott Pooley (two goals and one assist), and Mason Jobst (three assists) with three points each, while Indiana’s offense was spearheaded by Denis Smirnov with two goals and an assist.  The Lumberjacks even the season series with the Ice at two games apiece with three regular season meetings left between the two teams.

The Lumberjacks continue their eight-game road trip with a three-game trip to Iowa this weekend to take on the Sioux City Musketeers on Friday and Saturday at 8:00 pm followed by a clash with the Des Moines Buccaneers at 4:05 pm on Sunday.

The next pair of home games for the Lumberjacks will be on Friday, January 24th and Saturday, January 25th against the U.S. National Development Program at 7:15 pm, respectively.  Friday’s game against the Under-17 Team will feature the second and final trading card giveaway of the season along with the return of our “Jacks Win You Win” promotion.  If the Lumberjacks win on Friday, every fan in attendance will receive a $5 Sport Clips gift card.

Saturday’s game against the Under-18 Team will feature our annual “Jacks Fight Cancer” Game presented by Mercy Health Partners.  Fans can contribute to the event in numerous ways in which proceeds will be donated to the Johnson Family Cancer Center, and more information can be found on the Lumberjacks’ Facebook page by searching “Muskegon Lumberjacks.”  Additionally, our “Subway Saturday” promotion returns, where if the Lumberjacks win on Saturday, fans that attend the game can present 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 will be on sale for the next pair of home games over the next few weeks 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.