MUSKEGON, MI – Looking for a weekend sweep over their rivals the Muskegon Lumberjacks (15-9-1-1, 32 pts.) took to the ice at Trinity Health Arena for a Saturday night matchup against the Chicago Steel (8-15-1-1, 18 pts.) for the annual Teddy Bear Toss game presented by Betten Baker.
 
Jacks fans didn't have to wait long to throw their teddy bears. In fact they only had to wait 56 seconds for Ethan Whitcomb (St. Catherines, ON, CAN) to find the back of the net.  Xavier Veilleux (L'Ancienne-Lorette, QC, CAN)  sent the puck to the near side of the ice for Matvei Gridin (Kurgan, RUS) on the offensive zone entry. Gridin cut towards the middle and sent a pass to Whitcomb on the far side who took a step towards the net and fired a shot to release the bears from the stands.
 
Just 30 seconds later Whitcomb picked up his second point of the night by popping a puck in front from behind the net to Justin Solovey (Holmdel, NJ) who redirected it to the back of the net for his 8^th goal if the season, and a 2-0 Jacks lead.
 
Again in quick succession the Jacks found the back of the net this time on a goal from Ty Henricks (Mission Viejo, CA) for his sixth goal in the last seven periods of Lumberjacks Hockey. Hunter Anderson (Manhattan Beach, CA) and Jack Galanek (Hopkinton, MA) picked up assists as Henricks took a shot from the far side of the slot towards the near side of the net for his 10^th goal of the season.
 
After a 3 goal first period for Muskegon the Steel responded with a 3 goal second period to tie the game ahead of the final regulation period. Kolin Sisson redirected a shot from Thor Byfuglien to the back of the net at the 6:37 mark before scored a goal of his own while leading the Chicago rush into the offensive zone at the 11:58 mark. Ben Wilmott added his first career USHL goal in the late stages of the period to tie the game ahead of the third period.
 
Only one goal came in the third period and it belonged to the Lumberjacks. Whitcomb carried the puck into the offensive zone in the middle of the ice and kicked it out to the far side and David Klee (Castle Rock, CO). While falling to the ice Klee slid the puck across the slot to Solovey who ripped a one-timer passed the out of position goalie and into the net for his second goal of the night.
 
For the third time in as many games Beau Lane (Pembroke, MA) (3-0-0-0) earned the win for the Lumberjacks by making 24 saves on 27 shots against. Christian Manz started the game for the Steel, but only last two minutes and change allowing 3 goals on the 3 shots he faced. Louka Cloutier (2-7-0-0) entered in relief and backstopped a Chicago comeback effort, but earns the loss despite stopping 27 of the 28 shots fired his way by Muskegon.
 
The Jacks will enjoy the mid-season holiday break before returning to action with a three game week including a road game against the NTDP Under-18 team on Thursday December 28^th and a two game series at home against the Youngstown Phantoms on the 29^th and 30^th.