YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (February 7th) – In the final regular season meeting between the Muskegon Lumberjacks and Youngstown Phantoms at the Covelli Centre in Youngstown, Ohio, the hosts found a way to inch past the visitors courtesy of a pair of power play goals in the third period lifting the Phantoms to a 3-1 victory tonight at home in the Lumberjacks’ lone game on the weekend.

The first period saw a scoreless battle between the Eastern Conference foes as the Lumberjacks outshot the Phantoms by a 10-7 margin with both teams also going empty on two power play opportunities each through the first 20 minutes of play.

In the second period, the Phantoms (10-24-5, 25 points) notched the game’s first goal of the evening at the 6:07 mark as Trey Bradley found a loose rebound after Eric Schierhorn (11-12-1) was unable to glove off a shot fired by Zach Evancho from the left faceoff circle, and Bradley lifted his fourth goal of the season over Schierhorn’s glove to give the hosts a 1-0 lead.

The one goal game held into the final seconds of the second period when the Lumberjacks (19-19-4, 42 points) mustered the equalizer to make it a 1-1 game when Matt Iacopelli found a loose puck in the middle of the goal crease and had an easy rebound to fire home his team-leading 29th marker of the season with 1.9 seconds left in the middle frame.  Mason Jobst and Trevor Morbeck helped on the Iacopelli tally.

The shots were slightly in favor of the Lumberjacks by a 17-16 margin going into the second and final intermission with both teams having a power play opportunity each during the middle 20 minutes, but both were unable make anything happen on their respective opportunities.

The third period was the deciding factor in the game as the Lumberjacks ran into a slate of penalty trouble that led to the Phantoms cashing in on their power play opportunities.

Beginning at the 7:02 mark, Kyle Connor dug out a loose rebound to the left of Schierhorn and roofed his 19th goal of the season top shelf for the eventual game-winning power play goal to make it 2-1 Youngstown that was assisted by Trey Bradley and Kiefer Sherwood.

Minutes later at the 9:47 mark, J.J. Piccinich found himself a rebound at the top of the goal crease a slid his team-leading 22nd marker of the year under Schierhorn’s pads to make it 3-1 in favor of the Phantoms that was set up by Connor and Bradley.

The Lumberjacks would have no more answers offensively as Sean Romeo (4-14-1) provided the backstop in net stopping 30 of 31 shots on the night that included making 14 saves in the final frame to earn the victory for the Phantoms.  Muskegon outshot Youngstown on the evening by a 31-24 margin.

Eric Schierhorn took the loss in net for Muskegon stopping 21 of 24 shots for the game, and the Lumberjacks finished going 0-for-4 on the power play.  Youngstown, on the other hand, went 2-for-5 in their man advantages chances with the offense being led by Trey Bradley with a goal and two assists along with Kyle Connor chipping in with a goal plus an assist of his own.  Muskegon falls to 4-2-0 against Youngstown this season with three regular season meetings left between the two teams all coming at the L.C. Walker Arena.

The Lumberjacks return home next weekend for a pair of games against Eastern Conference competition beginning on Friday, February 14th against the Youngstown Phantoms followed by a clash with the Chicago Steel on Saturday, February 15th with the puck drop slated for 7:15 pm on both nights.

Friday’s game will feature “Love and Hockey” presented by Verdonis in honor of the Valentine’s Day holiday that includes a special Couples Ticket Package of two reserved tickets for only $14, and Verdonis will provide four gift certificates good for dinners for two (alcohol not included) for four lucky couples who attend the game.  Additionally, our “Jacks Win You Win” promotion returns, where if the Lumberjacks beat the Phantoms, every fan in attendance will receive a $5 Sport Clips gift card.

Saturday’s game will feature Red Wings Night in which fans will have an opportunity to win Red Wings tickets, merchandise, and numerous other prizes throughout the night.  Also, our Subway Saturday returns, where if the Lumberjacks beat the Steel, fans that attend that game can redeem their ticket stubs at any participating West Michigan Subway location for a buy one six-inch sub and get another six-inch sub of equal or lesser value for free.

Individual game tickets are on sale during next week for the low price of $10 for adults and $6 for children ages 3-12 for the Lumberjacks’ next pair of home games.  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.  You can also catch the Lumberjacks on Michigan TV and Sports with the Muskegon Lumberjack “Game of the Week” every Wednesday at 8:00 pm on Comcast channel 397 (or over the air on channel 38).

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.