MUSKEGON, Michigan (February 14th) – In a rematch from last Friday’s game in Youngstown, Ohio, the Muskegon Lumberjacks got some revenge on their Eastern Conference rival in the Youngstown Phantoms tonight as a big four-goal first period that included three goals on the man advantage carried the offensive load as the Lumberjacks breezed their way to a 5-2 victory at the L.C. Walker Arena.
After a scoreless first half of the opening frame, the Lumberjacks (20-19-4, 42 points) got their offensive engines revved up during the second half grabbing a 1-0 lead at the 11:33 mark as Matt Iacopelli ripped a slap shot straight away from just inside the blue line and beat Sean Romeo (4-16-0) under his left arm for his team-leading 30th marker of the season that was helped by Matej Paulovic.
Minutes later at the 15:18 mark, Haralds Egle created a Youngstown turnover in the far side wing of the Phantoms’ defensive zone and slid a backhand through Romeo’s five-hole at the bottom of the left faceoff circle to double the lead to 2-0 that went unassisted.
Just 30 seconds later, Youngstown’s Truman Reed would get flagged for a five-minute major for roughing and given a game misconduct, and the Lumberjacks made the Phantoms pay for the penalty. After another penalty was assessed to Alfred Larsson for checking from behind, Muskegon laced a second power play goal at the 16:36 mark to take a 3-0 lead as Jack Rowe was found wide open on the backdoor to fire one home after Iacopelli had banked a pass from the left point off the end boards to find him parked by himself to Romeo’s left.
Rowe’s power play goal was his 11th overall on the season and first as a member of the Lumberjacks that was also assisted by Christian Wolanin.
Just over a minute later, Muskegon continued the heavy offensive pressure taking a 4-0 lead with a third power play goal in the period this time from Scott Pooley as his wrist shot from the right faceoff circle deflected off of Romeo’s glove and popped over his left shoulder causing the puck to trickle in behind him that was aided by Wolanin and Jordan Uhelski.
The hosts took their four-goal lead into the first intermission while claiming the shot battle through the first 20 minutes by a 15-12 margin, and Sean Romeo would be lifted in favor of Colin DeAugustine after allowing four goals on 15 shots in just one period of work.
After a scoreless second period, the Phantoms (10-27-5, 25 points) finally cracked the scoreboard at the 1:40 mark of the third period as J.J. Piccinich ripped a wrist shot from the right faceoff circle over the right shoulder of Jordan Uhelski (9-7-3) to make it a 4-1 game for his team-leading 22nd marker of the season that was helped by Bo Pellah.
However, the Lumberjacks immediately countered and got that goal back as Mason Jobst skated his way past the Youngstown defense down the near side and roofed his 7th goal of the season over Colin DeAugustine’s glove hand while sliding to the top of the goal crease to give the home team a 5-1 lead that was helped by Trevor Morbeck.
Youngstown quickly responded and made it a 5-2 game at the 4:53 mark as Kiefer Sherwood roped a wrist shot from between the faceoff circles over Uhelski’s right shoulder for his 10th goal of the season that was set up by Kyle Connor and Pellah.
Following that goal, the Lumberjacks’ defense and goaltending stood tall the rest of the way to earn their 12th home win of the season as they outshot the Phantoms on the night by a 45-39 margin.
Jordan Uhelski earned the victory in net for Muskegon stopping 37 of 39 shots on the evening, while Colin DeAugustine stopped 29 of 30 shots in his two periods of relief work for the visiting Phantoms. Sean Romeo ended up taking the loss in net for Youngstown. Muskegon’s offense was spearheaded by Matt Iacopelli (one goal and one assist) and Christian Wolanin (two assists) with two points each along with seven other players notching at least a point. Youngstown was led offensively by Bo Pellah with two assists. The Lumberjacks improve to 5-2-0 against the Phantoms this season with two regular season meetings left between the two squads in mid-March.
The Lumberjacks are back at home tomorrow night against the rival Chicago Steel with the puck drop slated for 7:15 pm.
Tomorrow’s game will feature Red Wings Night in which fans will have an opportunity to win Red Wings tickets, merchandise, and numerous other prizes throughout the night. Also, our Subway Saturday returns, where if the Lumberjacks beat the Steel, fans that attend that 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.
Lastly, our Season Ticket Holder Saturday returns in which all season ticket holders are invited to attend a postgame event in the L.C. Walker Arena Annex that features comments from and meeting with Lumberjacks Head Coach Todd Krygier along with a Lumberjacks’ star from the game.
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 for the Lumberjacks’ next pair of home games on Friday, February 28th and Saturday, March 1st against the Des Moines Buccaneers and Waterloo Black Hawks, respectively, at 7:15 pm. 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.