DUBUQUE, Iowa (November 1st) – In the blink of an eye, the Muskegon Lumberjacks’ hopes of finally stealing a road victory at the Mystique Community Ice Center fizzled away in the waning moments of regulation as the Dubuque Fighting Saints evened the game with just under 39 seconds remaining in regulation followed by the overtime winner minutes later to crawl away with a 5-4 overtime victory.
The Fighting Saints (8-1-0, 16 points) took control of the first 20 minutes of play scoring a pair of goals to take an early 2-0 lead at began at the 12:09 mark as Joe Llaurado found a rebound after a shot from the right point by Alexx Privitera hit a body in front of Jordan Uhelski (2-2-2) to fire it home for his first goal of the season. Alexx Privitera and Jacob Benson were credited with the assists on the Llaurado tally.
Shortly after at the 16:06 mark, Dubuque took advantage of a power play to grab a 2-0 lead as Jason Ford roped a one-timer from the top of the right faceoff circle past Uhelski’s glove side for his third of the season that was set up by his brother, Keegan Ford. Dylan Gambrell also received a helper on the man advantage marker from Ford.
The Fighting Saints took that two-goal lead into the intermission after owning the shot battle by a wide 20-4 margin.
Early in the second period, the Lumberjacks (6-5-2, 14 points) started to get their hockey legs in gear as they cut the deficit to 2-1 at the 4:22 mark as Matt Iacopelli found a loose puck after getting poked off the puck initially on a breakaway attempt and fired it past Chrisitan Frey (6-0-0) for his team-leading ninth goal of the season after Frey was knocked into his own net by one of his own teammates.
A few minutes later at the 7:51 mark, Matt Mendelson created a Dubuque turnover into gold with a breakaway goal for his third of the season as he slid one past Frey going backhand to forehand to make it a 2-2 game.
Just 21 seconds later, the Fighting Saints had a golden opportunity to regain their lead as Jarrid Privitera was hooked on a breakaway attempt leading to a penalty shot. However, Uhelski stood tall in night for the Lumberjacks stoning Jarrid Privitera with the left pad.
The score remained the same into the latter stages of the middle frame as the Fighting Saints got their lead back at 3-2 at the 16:17 mark as Robby Darrar laced a power play goal roofing a backhanded shot top shelf past Uhelski for his second of the season that was helped by Jarrid Privitera and Gambrell.
Dubuque took their one goal lead into the second intermission, and the Lumberjacks edged Dubuque in shots during the middle frame by the slimmest of margins at 10-9.
Muskegon continued to pounce going into the third period and knotted the game at 3-3 at the 4:09 as Robbie DeMontis found a loose rebound off an Iacopelli shot from the left faceoff circle and roofed it past Frey.
Shortly after the 6:45 mark, the Lumberjacks grabbed their first lead of the night at 4-3 with Mendelson’s second of the night and fourth of the season off another rebound given up by Frey at the top of the goal crease. Carson Gatt had the lone assist on the goal.
The Lumberjacks continued to hold the slim lead going into the final moments of regulation when Dubuque decided to pull Frey for the extra attacker with 1:12 to go in the third period and it would prove dividends.
With 39 seconds left in the final stanza, Dubuque got the equalizer at 4-4 from Gambrell for his second of the season after finding a loose puck and getting enough on it to squeeze it past a sprawling Uhelski in the goal crease. Jason Ford and Jarrid Privitera had the assists on the late third period tally.
The game then leaked into overtime where the hosts got the last laugh just 1:03 into the extra session as Keegan Ford was found all alone in the slot and fired the game-winner short side past Uhelski’s blocker side for his first of the year. Max McHugh and Brett Boeing aided on the game-ending marker.
Dubuque outshot Muskegon on the night, 38-25, and Christian Frey made 21 saves on the night to remain perfect on the season. Jordan Uhelski stopped 33 shots on the night in the tough road loss.
The Fighting Saints were led offensively by Dylan Gambrell with three points (one goal and two assists) along with Keegan Ford (one goal and one assist), Jason Ford (one goal and one assist), and Alexx Privitera (two assists) with two points each. The Lumberjacks were led offensively by Matt Mendelson (two goals) and Matt Iacopelli (one goal and one assist) with two points each. Muskegon falls to 0-1-1 against Dubuque this season with two meetings left at the L.C. Walker Arena.
The Lumberjacks will travel home for a game tomorrow night 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.
