MUSKEGON, Michigan (March 14th) – In the first of two games this weekend at the L.C. Walker Arena between the Muskegon Lumberjacks and visiting Youngstown Phantoms, the hosts used a complete effort on both sides of the puck to eliminate any opportunity of a comeback attempt by the opposition as three different Lumberjacks notched two-point efforts in a 5-1 victory over the Phantoms to increase their winning streak to a season-high of five games.

The Lumberjacks (25-22-4, 54 points) got off to a good start notching the first two goals of the evening in the first period that began at the 6:49 mark as Adam Larkin fired a shot from the right point through traffic that bounced past the left pad of Colin DeAugustine (8-8-4) and tucked inside the left post for his 3rd goal of the season to give the hosts an early 1-0 lead that was helped by Trevor Morbeck.

Just minutes later at the 9:21 mark, Matt Iacopelli found a loose puck behind the Youngstown net and tucked one himself inside the left post and under the left pad of DeAugustine for his league-leading 36th goal of the season to double Muskegon’s lead to 2-0 that went unassisted.

The hosts took their two-goal lead into the first intermission while outshooting the visitors by a 14-6 margin through the first 20 minutes of play.

Muskegon continued to build on their lead in the second period making it 3-0 at the 8:30 mark as Iacopelli found a wide open Mason Jobst parked in front of DeAugustine and fed a pass from the right faceoff circle to Jobst, who one-timed his 9th goal of the season home that was also helped by Janik Moeser.

The Lumberjacks took their three-goal lead into the final frame while heavily outshooting the Phantoms by a 31-11 margin through the first two periods.

The home team would add two more goals in the third period to increase their lead to 5-0 by the 10:58 mark that started off at the 6:41 mark as Jobst notched a shorthanded goal for his second of the night and 10th marker of the year as he wrapped one around the right pad of DeAugustine while crashing the net that was assisted by Robbie DeMontis.  Shortly after, Connor Wood swatted the puck out of midair to the left of DeAugustine and into the back of the net for his 5th goal of the season to make it a five-goal spread that was aided by DeMontis and Scott Pooley.

The Phantoms (15-30-6, 36 points) broke the shutout at the 13:53 mark as Conor Lemirande found a loose puck between the faceoff circles and squeezed one through the five-hole of Eric Schierhorn (16-14-1) for his 6th marker of the season to cut the deficit to 5-1 that was helped by Alfred Larsson and Josh Nenadal.

Following the goal by the visitors, the Lumberjacks’ defense remained solid holding the Phantoms offense at just one goal for the game as the hosts ended up winning the shot battle by a wide 39-20 margin.

Eric Schierhorn picked up his fifth consecutive victory in net stopping 19 of 20 shots for Muskegon, while Colin DeAugustine took the loss between the pipes making 34 saves for Youngstown.  The Lumberjacks’ offense was spearheaded by Mason Jobst (two goals), Matt Iacopelli (one goal and one assist), and Robbie DeMontis (two assists) with two points each.  Muskegon improves to 6-2-0 this season against the Eastern Conference rival with one regular season meeting left between the two squads.

The Lumberjacks and Phantoms will conclude their two-game weekend series tomorrow night back at the L.C. Walker Arena at 7:15 pm.

Tomorrow’s game will feature Getaway to Ireland Night presented by Hennessey’s Irish Bar and Restaurant along with the return of Subway Saturday.  If the Lumberjacks defeat the Phantoms, fans that attend tomorrow’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 all next week 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 next weekend on Friday, March 21st and Saturday, March 22nd against the Indiana Ice and USNTDP Under-17 Team, respectively, at 7:15 pm.  Tickets can be purchased at the L.C. Walker Arena 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 Thursday at 6:00 pm on Charter channel 16.

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.