MUSKEGON, Michigan (January 26th) – It was a much better performance tonight for the host Muskegon Lumberjacks was they laced a trio of goals in the third period to erase what was once a tie game through the first 40 minutes of play to come away with a 5-2 victory over the USTNDP Under-17 Team to split the weekend home series against U.S. National Development Program.

The USNTDP Under-17 Team (18-17-2, 38 points) struck quickly in the opening moments of the game taking a 1-0 lead at the 2:06 mark as Casey Fitzgerald found a loose rebound to the right of Jordan Uhelski (7-7-3) and fired home his 2nd USHL goal of the season that was set up by Dennis Yan and Matthew Tkachuk.

The score remained the same until the closing moments of the opening frame when the Lumberjacks (18-17-4, 40 points) were able to even the game at 1-1 at the 18:02 mark as Matt Iacopelli found his way behind the Under-17’s defense and was all alone on a breakaway in which he wristed his team-leading 26th goal of the season past glove of Luke Opilka (3-7-0) from between the faceoff circles that was helped by Adam Larkin and Christian Wolanin.

With that goal from Iacopelli, the Woodhaven, Michigan native has now set the new franchise record for the most goals scored in a single season since the organization joined the USHL four seasons ago.

Both teams would hit the first intermission with the 1-1 tie with the shots also being deadlocked at 13 apiece.

The second period featured the Lumberjacks controlling the pace of play throughout outshooting the Under-17 Team by an 18-3 margin, and they were able to snag their first lead of the night at 2-1 at the 15:43 mark with another breakaway goal from Iacopelli for his second of the night and 27th marker of the season as he wristed a shot from the left faceoff circle past Opilka’s glove side that was assisted by Wolanin.

Muskegon’s lead lasted only 1:10 because the Under-17 Team was able to find a fortunate bounce to even the game at 2-2 at the 16:53 mark as a clearing attempt by the Lumberjacks hit a sanction on the end glass behind their own net in which the puck shot out front in the slot area, and Luke Kunin blistered a slap shot that was fought off by Uhelski, but the rebound was tipped in on the backhand by Michael Floodstrand for his 4th USHL goal of the season while to Uhelski’s right side.

Both teams would head into the second intermission break with another tie score and the Lumberjacks controlling the shot advantage by a 31-16 margin.

The third period proved to be the deciding factor for tonight’s game, and it went in favor of the host Lumberjacks as Christian Wolanin ripped a power play goal at the 5:28 mark from the right faceoff circle that proved to be the eventual game-winning goal over the right shoulder of Opilka to give the hosts a 3-2 lead that was helped by Matt Mendelson.

Muskegon was then able to get that elusive two-goal lead at 4-2 by the 13:08 mark as Chase Hatcher dug the puck out from the near side wing and waltzed his way to the front of the net and left the puck for teammate Matej Paulovic, who tipped home his 2nd goal of the year to the left of Opilka.

To cap off the scoring at the 17:48 mark, Connor Wood created a turnover at the Under-17’s blue line and had his initial breakaway attempt stopped by Opilka with left pad, but he then grabbed the puck from the side of the net and roofed a backhand shot picking the top right corner for his 4th marker of the season to make it a three-goal game at 5-2 that went unassisted.

The Lumberjacks were able to keep the visitors off the scoreboard for the rest of the evening as they also controlled the shot battle winning by a wide 49-26 margin.

Jordan Uhelski took the win in net for the Lumberjacks stopping 24 of 26 shots on the night, while Luke Opilka took the loss for the visiting Under-17 Team making 44 saves of his own.  Muskegon was spearheaded offensively by Christian Wolanin with a goal and two assists along with Matt Iacopelli contributing with a pair of goals.  The Lumberjacks improve to 2-0-0 against the USNTDP Under-17 squad with one more meeting left between the two teams this season on March 22nd at the L.C. Walker Arena.

The Lumberjacks will hit the road for one game next weekend on Friday against the Waterloo Black Hawks at 8:05 pm.  The following night on Saturday, the Lumberjacks will return home to take on the rival Indiana Ice at 7:15 pm.

Saturday’s game will feature Red Wings Alum Darren McCarty in attendance signing autographs for all of our fans in attendance as he is out promoting his new book My Last Fight and will be honored during a ceremonial puck drop.  Boy Scout Night also takes place where numerous local Boy Scout troops will be in attendance with the first 250 scouts entering the arena receiving a commemorative patch.  In addition, $2 from every Boy Scout ticket sold goes back to benefit the Boy Scouts.

Subway Saturday returns again on Saturday where if the Lumberjacks beat the Ice, 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.

Individual game tickets will be on sale all next week for Saturday’s game 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.