CEDAR RAPIDS, IA – It's hard to believe, but the USHL is already 7 weeks into the new season and the Jacks are in full swing. Week 7 features a trip to Cedar Rapids for a pair of games against the RoughRiders. The trip brings the first two games of the 4-game season long series. A match up split down the middle with two wins on each side last year.
 

The Match up

The last time these teams saw each other was last season when the Jacks picked up a two-game weekend sweep over the Riders in Cedar Rapids. The wins were part of a 4-game win streak at the time for Muskegon who again enters the match up hot. The Jacks have won 4 out of their last 5 games and enter week 7 in the USHL schedule in 3^rd place of the Eastern Conference. The start of the season wasn't ideal for the Lumberjacks with an 0-1-1-0 record at the 2024 Fall Classic, but since a week 4 trip to Des Moines the wins have been piling up.
 
Cedar Rapids meanwhile started the year with a perfect 2-0 record at the Fall Classic but have since fallen off. The RoughRiders are riding a 3-game losing streak and have been on the wrong end of 5 out of their last 6 games. The struggle has been in the late stages of games with the leagues second most goals against in the third period (16) through 11 games.
 

About Last Weekend

Every team had made their home opener within the first 3 weeks of the USHL calendar, but for the Jacks it didn't come until last weekend against the Chicago Steel. With the Flannel Fest Party rocking outside on Western Avenue the Jacks and Steel provided quite the show for the fans in the two-game series. Friday night it felt like the Jacks were beating themselves with turnover after turnover leading to goals for Chicago. Despite the self-inflicted wounds the game remained close thanks in large part to Drew Stewart (Minnetonka, MN). After a trade at the start of the month bringing him to Muskegon Stewart scored his first three goals as a Lumberjack in the second period for a natural hat trick. Not only was Friday night Stewart's first career hat trick in the USHL, but it's also the first time he scored multiple goals through over 60 games in the league. David Klee (Castle Rock, CO) added a goal in the third period but in the end the Jacks fell 5-4.
 
Saturday featured a better all-around performance from the Lumberjacks en route to a 4-1 win. Carter Sanderson (Pierre, SD) scored his first career goal to open the scoring in the first period while Klee added another goal to extend his point streak to 5 games, and Vaclav Nestrasil (Praha, CZE) scored a pair of goals to give the Jacks their 5^th win of the season. Stephen Peck (New York, NY) made 23 saves for his first win of the season.
 
The RoughRiders meanwhile took a road trip to Madison and Waterloo on Friday and Saturday. Friday's game in Madison ended with the Capitols winning in a shootout 3-2, and Saturday's with the Black Hawks on top 4-0. Charles Blanchard and Daniel Astapovich scored the two Cedar Rapids goals on the weekend while AJ Reyelts started both games in the crease and made 54 saves on 59 shots against.
 
 

PLAYER SPOTLIGHT: DREW STEWART

So far this season, three Lumberjacks have played a game against the team they broke into the USHL with. At the Fall Classic Jake Toll (Rosemount, MN) took on the Sioux Falls Stampede after being traded from the Herd to the Jacks late last season. Back in week 4 Klee played just his second career game against the Black Hawks after playing his first USHL season in Waterloo, and Davis Borozinskis (Liepaja, LAT) got an opportunity to play against his former teammates in Des Moines on the same trip. Now Stewart, a mid-season acquisition of the Lumberjacks back in early October returns to Cedar Rapids where he's played parts of the past two seasons.
 
A native of Minnetonka, MN, Stewart played high school hockey at Benilde-St. Margaret's School where he recorded 104 points in 68 games. Now in Muskegon in the USHL he makes his return to Cedar Rapids coming off a week in which he recorded a natural hat trick, and earned top line minutes for the Jacks. Following junior hockey Stewart will play NCAA Division I hockey in the BIG10 at Notre Dame.

Over the Airwaves

Every Lumberjacks game can be found on the official live stream partner of the USHL, FloHockey with Voice of the 'Jacks Ezra Gennello. Fans can also join Ezra on the free radio feed on the Lumberjacks Hockey Network on Mixlr.
 
30 minutes to puck drop every game day the Lumberjacks Hockey Network Pregame Show takes place on Facebook Live.
 

Upcoming Games

Fri. November 1 | 8:05 pm ET | at Cedar Rapids
Sat. November 2 | 8:05 pm ET | at Cedar Rapids
Fri. November 8 | 7:00 pm ET | vs Omaha
Sat. November 9 | 6:00 pm ET | vs Omaha
 

Follow the Jacks

Be sure to follow the Muskegon Lumberjacks on social media!
Facebook - Muskegon Lumberjacks
Twitter - @MuskegonJacks
Instagram - @muskegonjacks
Tik Tok - muskegonlumberjacks
 

About the Muskegon Lumberjacks

The Muskegon Lumberjacks are proud and dedicated members of the United States Hockey League (USHL), the nation's only Tier I junior hockey league and leading producer of NCAA players and National Hockey League draft picks in the United States. The club's goal is to create an environment where student-athletes develop into successful young men both on and off the ice, which includes playing the game the right way while keeping up with their studies in the classroom and staying actively involved in the West Michigan community. The organization is committed to providing quality, affordable, and top-notch family entertainment while providing positive role models for the youth and the local community.