GREEN BAY, WI – The chances were there for the Muskegon Lumberjacks (27-15-1-1, 56 pts.) on Friday night with three hit posts and a goal called off in the first period of a 5-1 loss against the Green Bay Gamblers (26-10-4-2, 58 pts.).
 
Green Bay opened the scoring 5:10 into the contest with the first goal of the game for Michael DeAngelo with assists from Josh Player and Lev Katzin.
 
The Jacks tied the game up at the 9:04 mark when Jake Toll (Rosemount, MN) sent a pass from the Muskegon zone up the near side wall to Joe Connor (Amherst, NH). Entering the offensive end with speed Connor carried the puck towards the top of the circle and pulled a toe drag around the Green Bay defenseman before using him as a screen to get a shot past the goalie and into the top of the net. For Connor it is his 19^th goal, 39^th point of the season.
 
Just :21 seconds later Green Bay responded when former Lumberjacks William Hughes carried the puck into the offensive zone and ripped a shot off the far post and in. After a video review confirmed the goal was good play continued and it didn't take long for the Jacks to regain the tie. Ty Henricks (Mission Viejo, CA) tapped the puck at center ice to Cody Croal (North Branch, MN) on the near side. Croal entered the offensive zone and instead of forcing a back door pass to Henricks on the rush sent a pass towards the top of the slot for Cooper Pierson (Zionsville, IN), the third man high. Pierson fired a shot to the back of the net, but this time the video review overturned the call on the ice and the Gamblers held on to their lead.
 
A third goal before the end of the period this time from Ryan Humphrey heled Green Bay to a 3-1 lead heading into the first intermission.
 
With a goal in each of the next two periods Green Bay picked up the 5-1 win. First, at 15:21 of the second frame DeAngelo scored his second of the game. Blake Bechen added a goal of his own at the 5:48 mark of the third to put the icing on the cake.
 
Shikhabudtin Gadzhiev (Makhachkala, RUS) (8-5-0-0) earned the loss on his record with 22 saves on 27 shots against. Beau Lane (Pembroke, MA) entered following the Last Gambler goal and turned aside every shot he faced. Adam Gajan (19-7-2-1) stopped 35 of the 36 shots taken by the Jacks enroute to the win.
 
The teams continue the 3-game weekend with the middle contest at 6:05 pm CST tomorrow night at the Resch Center. The game can be found on the official live stream partner of the USHL, FloHockey, and for free on the Lumberjacks Hockey Network on Mixlr.
 
For schedules, scores, updates, and more visit muskegonlumberjacks.com. Check out the Jacks on social media @muskegonjacks on Instagram and X, @muskegonlumberjacks on TikTok for special content!