MUSKEGON – As the season moves towards the final month of the calendar the schedule the Muskegon Lumberjacks took to green ice looking to continue strong play against the USA Hockey National Team Development Program U18 Team. Raythan Robbins impressed in the crease while the Jacks picked up the 4-2 win.
 
With the win Muskegon improves to 22-24-3-0 this season. The NTDP falls to 29-15-1-2 with the loss. Tomorrow will close out the home and home series with a 7 pm game at USA Hockey Arena.
 
The 18s took a 1-0 lead while on the power play at the 5:38 mark of the first period. Cole Hutson kept the puck in the offensive zone and played down the far side wall. Danny Nelson controlled in the slot and tapped the puck towards the far side of the crease to Gabe Perreault. Without hesitation Perreault sent it back towards the near side for Ryan Leonard who had an open net to shoot at for his 9^th USHL goal this season.
 
The Jacks tied the game back up about five minutes later at the 10:28 mark when Joe Connor carried the puck into the offensive zone on a 2-on-1 with Matthew Morden. Connor sent the puck across the crease to Morden, but it went off a defenseman and stayed in front. Michael Callow was trailing behind and picked up the puck before firing a shot into the back of the net for his 15^th goal and the 1-1 tie.
 
Muskegon took a lead in the middle period with a powerplay goal of their own at the 14 minute mark of the frame. Morden left the area behind his own net and carried the puck a couple of steps up the ice before firing a pass through the neutral zone to Cody Croal on the near side of the NTDP blueline. Croal carried the puck into the offensive zone and across the slot and fed George Fegaras in stride on the far side of the zone. Fegaras ripped a shot over the shoulder of the NTDP netminder for his third goal of the season and a 2-1 Lumberjacks lead.
 
A pair of goals in the third period helped lift the Jacks to a 4-2 win. First, just 2:30 into the frame Callow finished on a Muskegon Power play after Croal found him with space on the back door. It was Callow's second goal of the game and 16^th of the season. The 18s got one back at the 10:20 mark when Perreault redirected a shot just in front of the crease off his mid section and into the back of the net.
 
Shorthanded and facing an empty net on the other side of the ice Nicholas Rexine caused a turnover at the Muskegon blue line and sent the puck into the NTDP zone. Croal won a race for possession and sent the puck into the net for his third point of the contest and the eventual final score of 4-2.
 
Robbins (6-12-1) picks up his sixth win of the season making 36 saves on 38 shots against. Carsen Musser (4-3-0) stopped 18 of 21 shots fired by the Lumberjacks in route to the loss.
 
The teams close out the home and home series tomorrow night at USA Hockey Arena in Plymouth, Michigan. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 pm and can be caught on USAHockeytv and the Mixlr app.