RALSTON, Nebraska (October 27th) – In a game where they held three separate leads throughout the game, the Muskegon Lumberjacks fell victim to a huge third period by the host Omaha Lancers.  The Lancers tallied four third period goals including the game-winner with 4:17 left in regulation to come away with a 6-5 victory tonight at the Ralston Sports and Entertainment Complex.

The Lumberjacks (6-5-1, 13 points) were able to notch the first two goals of the game from Scott Pooley as he laced his fourth and fifth goals of the season at the 5:37 and 16:04 marks, respectively, to give Muskegon a 2-0 lead into the first intermission.  C.J. Smith and Cullen Hurley had the helpers on Pooley’s first goal, while Cullen Hurley had the lone assist on the second goal from Pooley.

Muskegon took the two-goal lead into the first intermission locker room even though Omaha led the shot battle, 11-6.

The Lancers (9-1-1, 19 points) shifted the momentum into their direction halfway through the second period as Gage Hough potted his seventh goal of the season from Tyler Vesel and Jake Randolph at the 10:17 mark to make it a 2-1 game.  Shortly after at the 14:41 mark, Omaha evened the game at 2-2 on the power play from Tucker Poolman for his first of the season from Randolph and Hough.

Less than a minute after the Lancers had tied the game, the Lumberjacks regained the lead at 3-2 at the 15:29 mark as Frederik Tiffels notched his third goal of the season finding a loose puck near the top of the goal crease and roofing a shot over Hayden Hawkey (3-0-0) that was helped by Luke Sandler and Cooper Marody.

Just under three minutes after the Tiffels goal, Muskegon got their two-goal lead back at 4-2 with 1:57 left in the middle frame as C.J. Smith slammed his four goal of the season home on the back door to the left of Hawkey off a nice feed from Connor Hurley in the right faceoff circle.  Robbie DeMontis also received a helper on the Smith man advantage goal.

Again, the Lumberjacks took a two-goal lead into the second intermission as the shots were now even at 18 each.

The third period featured a flurry of goals from the opposition as just 38 seconds into the frame, Omaha cut the deficit to 4-3 with Poolman’s second of the night from Hough and Randolph.  Shortly after at the 2:12 mark, the Lancers suddenly made it a tie game at 4-4 from Anthony Angello for his second of the season that was assisted by Louie Rowe and Jake Henderson.

For the third time on the night, the Lumberjacks took another lead at 5-4 at the 8:17 mark as Matt Iacopelli found a rebound from between the faceoff circles and roofed his team-leading eighth goal of the season over Hawkey that was aided by Trevor Morbeck and DeMontis.

The score held into the second half of the final frame when the hosts decided to play spoiler beginning at the 12:59 mark with Poolman’s hat trick goal in which his shot from the right point hit Lumberjacks Defenseman Adam Larkin high off his chest and somehow found its way past Eric Schierhorn (4-3-0) to knot the game at 5-5.  Steven Johnson and Austin Pooley had the assists on the Poolman strike.

A few minutes later at the 15:43 mark, Omaha captured their first lead of the game that they would not relinquish at 6-5 as a shot from the right point from Jimmy Schuldt was redirected by a couple of bodies in front of Schierhorn and found its way past his glove side for his second goal of the season.  Anthony Angello and Rowe had the assists on the game-winning goal.

Muskegon had a great opportunity late to notch the equalizer as Schierhorn was pulled for the extra attacker with 1:12 left in regulation creating a six-on-four power play after Vesel for Omaha was called for interference, but they could not find the back of the net.

Omaha outshot Muskegon on the night, 28-25, and Hayden Hawkey made 20 saves in net for his third win in as many starts.  Eric Schierhorn made 22 saves on the night in the tough road loss.  Both teams notched a power play tally in seven opportunities combined.  Omaha’s offense was led by three players in Tucker Poolman (three goals), Gage Hough (one goal and two assists), and Jake Randolph (three assists) with three points each.  The Lumberjacks were led offensively by four players in Scott Pooley (two goals), C.J. Smith (one goal and one assist), Cullen Hurley (two assists), and Robbie DeMontis (two assists) with two points each.

The Lumberjacks will conclude their four-game road swing with a trip to Dubuque to take on the Fighting Saints next Friday night at 8:35 pm.

The team’s next home game will be next Saturday against the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders at 7:15 pm that includes Try Hockey for Free Day along with the return of our Subway Saturday promotion.  If the Lumberjacks beat the RoughRiders, fans can redeem their ticket stubs at any participating Subway location for a buy one six-inch sub, get another six-inch sub of equal or lesser value for free.

Individual game tickets are on sale 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.