MUSKEGON – Coming off a two game sweep at the hands of the Cedar Rapids Rough Riders the Muskegon Lumberjacks are looking to bounce back with a two game series at home against the visiting Dubuque Fighting Saints. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Friday and Saturday night at Trinity Health Arena for the Fighting Saints final trip to Trinity Health Arena this season.
Season Series
The matchup between the two teams has treated Muskegon well this season holding a 3-1 record through 4 meetings throughout the year. First, the teams met in Muskegon back on October 22nd for a game that saw the Jacks offense explode in the 6-2 win.
Luke Buss and
Cody Croal each recorded a goal and an assist while defensemen
Easton Young and
Gavin McCarthy both had one of each.
A month later on November 18
th and 19
th the teams met at the Dubuque Ice Arena for a two game series. Muskegon won on Friday 3-2 in a shootout that
Matvei Gridin put the finishing touches on. Saturday went the other way for a 5-4 Fighting Saints win. McCarthy and Croal both impressed again with the defenseman scoring twice and the forward adding three helpers.
A single game on December 4
th saw another explosive output from the Lumberjacks in a 7-4 win at Dubuque. Keeping with the theme of the series both Croal and McCarthy recorded multi point games.
Croal, committed to the University of Maine has 7 points on 3 goals and 4 assists in 4 games against the Fighting Saints this year. Future Boston Terrier McCarthy has 6 points with 4 goals and two assists in the season series.
Last Time Out
It was a struggle on the road for the Lumberjacks last weekend paying a trip to the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders. A pair of 4-1 losses at Imon Ice Arena brought goals from
Ethan Fredericks and
Ethan Whitcomb, and impressive outings from netminder
Raythan Robbins who started both contests. The Alaskan native stopped 30 of 34 shots in Friday's game, and 24 of 27 on Saturday, but a stagnant offense on the other end of the ice earned him the losses.
Dubuque took on the Des Moines Buccaneers in a home-and-home series starting with a 3-2 overtime loss in Des Moines on Friday night. Both teams struck twice in the middle period, then just 43 seconds into overtime the Buccaneers found the back of the net for the win. Saturday went better for the Fighting Saints picking up a 4-1 win in front of the home crowd. Three straight goals in the second period followed by an empty netter in the third to halt a Buccaneer come back lifted Dubuque to the win.
Conference Standings
Currently in 7
th place of the Eastern Conference Muskegon finds themselves in a playoff battle with Cedar Rapids and Dubuque. The three of which are only 11 points apart from each other with 16 games remaining on the schedule. Including the weekend Muskegon and Dubuque play three more times, while the RoughRiders and Gamblers both have a pair of contests against the Lumberjacks coming up. No Eastern Conference team has clinched a playoff spot to this point with the standings being so tight.
What to Expect
In just four games against each other this season Muskegon and Dubuque have combined for 34 goals. Expect another high scoring output though not on the power play. Entering the weekend Muskegon is ranked 9
th in the USHL with a 20.1% success rate while Dubuque is 13
th out of 16 teams with 18.8%. The Muskegon penalty kill though is tied for the most shorthanded goals for this season with 12 so expect the Jacks to apply the pressure when a man down.
Cody Croal and
Gavin McCarthy have recorded multi point games in every matchup against the Fighting Saints this season. Croal has been one of the most consistent players on the roster since day one of the season while McCarthy has shined at both ends of the ice as a member of the Lumberjacks defense core.
A new face joined the team this week in Joe Connor. The 2005 birth year from Amherst, New Hampshire spent this season playing and winning a championship with the Avon Old Farms varsity boys hockey team. In 28 games Connor recorded 44 points with Avon finishing on top of the New England Preparatory School Athletic Council Elite 8 Tournament. This past summer Connor represented the United States at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup in Red Deer, Alberta, CAN. In 4 games Connor found the back of the net twice and added an assist for 3 points. Connor was selected by the Lumberjacks in the 2021 USHL Draft.
Promotions
Friday night is Mario night at Trinity Health Arena. Come out to the game and celebrate National Mario Day. Saturday night is Health Care Hero Night. Join the Lumberjacks in saluting all the doctors and nurses who keep our community safe and healthy!
Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m. on both nights and tickets can be purchased online at muskegonlumberjacks.com, over the phone by calling 231-799-7000, or in person by visiting the Lumberjacks business office at Trinity Health Arena.
Can't make it to the game? We've got you covered. FloSports is the official streaming partner of the Muskegon Lumberjacks and USHL. Watch all season long on FloSports or listen with Mixlr.
