MUSKEGON – It was a busy night at Trinity Health Arena for the Muskegon Lumberjacks (11-7-1-1, 24 pts.) as they looked to pick up their third straight win and a weekend sweep over the Madison Capitols (9-6-3-2, 23 pts.).
Joe Connor (Amherst, NH) found the back of the net twice, once to take a lead in the third period, and again in overtime to clinch the 4-3 overtime win.
Just like Friday night the Jacks jumped out to an early 1-0 lead thanks to a goal from
David Klee (Castle Rock, CO). Playing on a line alongside
Ty Henricks (Mission Viejo, CA), and
Jack Galanek (Hopkinton, MA) the trio combined to earn a high-quality look in the offensive zone with Klee on a breakaway. Patricks Berzins made the initial save, but video review showed the puck trickle to the back of the net past the net minder just 2:38 into the contest.
Madison tied the game four minutes later after Sam Rice intercepted a breakout pass in the middle of the Jacks zone and ripped a shot to the top corner for his third goal of the season.
The game remained tied heading to the second period, but again the Lumberjacks scored to take a 2-1 lead. This time,
Justin Solovey (Holmdel, NJ) sent the puck to the blue line for defenseman
Filip Nordberg (Stockholm, SWE). The defenseman fired a puck towards the net that took a fortuitous bounce off a Capitols player and into the back of the net.
Just like the first period Madison scored again to tie the game heading into the second intermission. Noah Barlage sent a shot pass to the near side face off circle in the Jacks zone to James Hong who redirected it into the back of the net at the 16:46 mark of the frame.
Muskegon opened the scoring in the third period at the 12:06 mark after Connor found the back of the net for his first goal of the game. Connor had two breakaways and a penalty shot earlier in the period, and didn't allow Berzins to stop him again. After getting a pass on the far side of the zone from
Xavier Veilleux (L'Ancienne-Lorrette, QC, CAN) Connor fired a shot to the top portion of the net to give the Jacks a 3-2 lead.
The beneficiaries of a late game power play the Capitols gained momentum in the dying moments to build a come back effort. With just over a minute to play Chirstopher Delaney got his shot turned aside, but Aiden Long was in the right place to bang home the rebound to tie the game and force overtime.
For the second time in as many games the Jacks and Caps needed extra hockey to decide a winner, but this time the game would only need overtime for the Jacks to come out on top. 2:43 into the extra period
Cody Croal (North Branch, MN) gave the puck to
Easton Young (Grand Rapids, MN) at the top of the Capitols zone. Young made a nice move around a defender before sliding the puck to Connor who moved across the front of the goal and lifted the puck over the goalie and into the net for his second goal of the game, and the game winner.
Stephen Peck (New York, NY) (1-0-0-0) started his first career USHL game and earned the win by stopping 24 of the 27 shots he faced. Berzins (5-4-1-0) earned the loss allowing 4 goals on 23 shots.
The Jacks hit the road and head east for the USHL's American Cup presented by Wegmans next week. The Lumberjacks and Youngstown Phantoms will play a pair of games at the Tim Hortons Sportsplex in Rochester, NY on Thursday and Friday. For more information on the games visit ushl.com.
