CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (February 21st) – In the final regular season meeting between the two Eastern Conference rivals, the visiting Muskegon Lumberjacks were unable to overcome an early deficit to the host Cedar Rapids RoughRiders as the home team used a big third period to brush off a late offensive charge from the visitors and climb their way to a 6-3 victory tonight at the Cedar Rapids Ice Arena.

In the opening minutes of the game at the 2:06 mark, the RoughRiders (28-14-2, 58 points) wasted no time in getting on the board first as Andrew Oglevie was found open on the backdoor and slid a one-timer past Eric Schierhorn (11-13-1) for his 9th marker of the season to give the hosts an early 1-0 lead that was set up by Alec Marsh and Charlie Curti.

No scoring was had the rest of the way as Cedar Rapids outshot Muskegon through the first 20 minutes by a slim 8-5 margin.  The RoughRiders were 0-for-2 on the man advantage in the first period, while the Lumberjacks went empty on their lone power play opportunity of the opening frame.

The beginning half of the second period saw the host RoughRiders eventually triple their lead to 3-0 with a pair of goals just 57 seconds apart from one another.  Beginning at the 6:00 mark, Dylan McLaughlin skated the puck down the nearside boards and was able to sneak his way around the Muskegon defense whiling shifting to his forehand to slide his 8th goal of the season past the outstretched right pad of Schierhorn.  Clark Kuster received the lone helper on the second goal of the evening for Cedar Rapids.

Moments later at the 6:57 mark, Carlos Fornaris tipped a one-time goal on the backdoor past Schierhorn’s right pad for his 5th goal of the year to give the hosts a three-goal lead that was set up by Dylan Steman and Kevin Shand.

As the middle stanza was beginning to come to an end, the Lumberjacks (20-21-4, 44 points) were able to cut the deficit to two at 3-1 with just under 51 seconds remaining as a RoughRiders turnover at their own blue line led to Robbie DeMontis centering a pass to Jack Rowe in between the faceoff circles in which he roofed a backhand over the shoulder of Danny Tirone (19-8-0) for his 12th marker of the season and 2nd as a Lumberjack.  Daniel Willett also helped on the Rowe tally.

Muskegon remained down two goals going into the second intermission while outshooting Cedar Rapids by a slim 18-16 margin.

Near the halfway point of the third period at the 8:49 mark, the RoughRiders increased their lead to 4-1 as Alec Marsh beat Schierhorn on the short glove side top shelf for his 13th goal of the year that went unassisted, but the Lumberjacks refused to go away quietly as they sliced the deficit to 4-2 just 55 seconds later as Trevor Morbeck found an open Matt Iacopelli on the trail in between the faceoff circles, and he ripped a wrist shot past Tirone’s blocker for his team-leading 32nd goal of the season.

As the game neared the final five minutes, Cedar Rapids would counter again getting their three-goal lead back at 5-2 at the 14:50 mark as Andrew Gaus found a loose puck in between the faceoff circles after the puck had shot off the end boards to Schierhorn’s left and slid his 4th goal of the season and 2nd as a RoughRider through the five-hole that was assisted by Kuster and Fornaris.

Just 58 seconds later, Muskegon answered back to make it 5-3 with 4:12 left in regulation as Chris Dodero found a loose rebound on the backdoor after an initial shot from Connor Wood at the left faceoff circle was stopped by Tirone to backhand his 4th marker of the year and 3rd as a Lumberjack to keep the visitors within striking distance.

In the end, the Lumberjacks would run out of steam offensively as Cedar Rapids potted an empty net goal with .2 seconds left from Steman for his 7th of the year to cap off the scoring on the night.  Muskegon outshot Cedar Rapids for the game by a 34-25 margin.

Danny Tirone stopped 31 of 34 shots on the night for the RoughRiders in the home victory, while Eric Schierhorn took the road loss making 19 of 24 saves for the Lumberjacks.  Cedar Rapids was led offensively by four players in Dylan Steman, Carlos Fornaris, Alec Marsh, and Clark Kuster with two points each, while the Lumberjacks had seven different players notch a point for the game.  Muskegon ends the regular season going 1-2-1 in four meetings against Cedar Rapids.

The Lumberjacks conclude their two-game road weekend tomorrow night with a return bout against the Chicago Steel at 8:00 pm from The Edge Ice Arena in Bensenville, Illinois.

The following weekend, Muskegon returns home for two games against Western Conference opposition on Friday, February 28th and Saturday, March 1st against the Des Moines Buccaneers and Waterloo Black Hawks, respectively, with both games slated for 7:15 pm.

Friday’s game features Jersey Day presented by Tim Hortons, where fans are invited to wear their favorite team’s jerseys to the game and can register to try and win prizes courtesy of Tim Hortons.  Also, Flapjack Friday returns courtesy of the Muskegon Lions Club in which fans can stop by the Party Deck from 6:15-8:15 pm and get a delicious Pancake Dinner for only $5 to includes pancakes, sausage, and juice.

Saturday’s game is a part of Hockey Weekend Across America and signals the return of our Subway Saturday promotion.  If the Lumberjacks beat the Black Hawks on that Saturday, every fan that is in attendance 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.  Also, the night will feature a postgame skate with the Lumberjacks team.

Individual game tickets will be on sale during the next two weeks for the low price of $10 for adults and $6 for children ages 3-12 for the next pair of home contests.  Tickets can be purchased at the Lumberjacks’ Box Office or by calling (231) 724-5225.

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.