MUSKEGON, Michigan (March 1st) – In a close-knit battle tonight against one of the league’s premier teams in the Waterloo Black Hawks, the Muskegon Lumberjacks found a way to muscle another two big points in the standings as it took a seven-round shootout to knock off the visitors as Haralds Egle provided the heroics for the home bunch in a 3-2 victory, 1-0 in a shootout, at the L.C. Walker Arena.

In an evenly-played first period, the Lumberjacks (22-22-4, 48 points) won the race to the scoreboard first at the 4:10 mark as a long, rising wrist shot from Janik Moeser in between the center ice logo and blue line snuck over the glove hand of Cameron Johnson (6-15-4) for his 3rd marker of the season that went unassisted.

Minutes later at the 9:22 mark, the Black Hawks (34-9-4, 72 points) knotted the game at 1-1 with a four-on-four tally from Liam Pecararo as he tucked a sharp-angle shot to the right of a sprawling Eric Schierhorn (13-14-1) inside the far left post for his 16th goal of the season that went unassisted.

The game remained the same tie score going into the first intermission with the Lumberjacks edging the Black Hawks in shots by a slim 12-11 margin through the first 20 minutes.

Right out of the gates in the second period, the Lumberjacks grabbed their second lead of the evening at 2-1 just 47 seconds into the middle frame as a loose puck to the left of Johnson found the stick of Matt Mendelson in the low slot, who roofed his 14th goal of the season over Johnson’s glove hand that was helped by Cooper Marody and Matt Iacopelli.

Shortly after at the 6:01 mark, the visiting Black Hawks tied the game again at 2-2 as Tyler Sheehy muscled his 16th goal of the season while crashing into the front of the net as the puck slid just past the outstretched right pad of Schierhorn that was assisted by Drew Melanson.

The tight battle would go into the second and final intermission the same score as Waterloo outshot Muskegon in the middle frame by an 18-11 margin to take a 29-23 advantage on the shot chart.

The chess match continued into the third period where neither team could capitalize on their respective opportunities that included the Lumberjacks having a five-minute power play opportunity late in regulation with 2:54 to go as Lawton Courtnall was given a major plus a game misconduct on a hit from behind on Scott Pooley.

However, the Waterloo penalty kill stood tall as Muskegon could not convert on the man advantage that eventually trickled into the overtime session for the first 2:06 of extra time.  The game would enter into a shootout as the Black Hawks ended up outshooting the Lumberjacks by a 40-38 margin.

Both netminders were solid during the skills competition as the first six rounds showed no scoring until the decisive seventh round hit.  Jake Horton of Waterloo did not convert on his attempt, and that led to Haralds Egle roofing a backhand over the outstretched right pad of Johnson for his first career USHL shootout goal to give Muskegon the extra point and home victory.

Eric Schierhorn earned his 13th win in net for the Lumberjacks stopping 38 of 40 shots in regulation and overtime that included 7 more in the shootout.  Cameron Johnson took the overtime loss for the Black Hawks stopping 35 of 37 shots including 6 of 7 shots in the shootout.  Muskegon ends the regular season splitting the two-game series with Waterloo at a record of 1-1-0.

Muskegon will hit the road next weekend for their longest trip of the season to Kearney, Nebraska for pair of games against the Western Conference’s Tri-City Storm on Friday, March 7th at 8:30 pm and Saturday, March 8th at 8:05 pm.

The following weekend, the Lumberjacks will return home to host the Youngstown Phantoms for a pair of games on Friday, March 14th and Saturday, March 15th at 7:15 pm, respectively.

Friday’s game will feature 70’s Night sponsored by Hennessey’s and signals the return of our “Jacks Win You Win” promotion.  If the Lumberjacks beat the Phantoms, every fan in attendance will receive a $5 Sport Clips gift card. 

Saturday’s game will feature Getaway to Ireland Night sponsored by Clear Channel Radio along with the return of Subway Saturday.  If the Lumberjacks defeat the Phantoms, fans that attend Saturday’s 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 will be on sale during the next two 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 for Muskegon’s next pair of home contests.  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.