YOUNGSTOWN, OH – A game that saw 239 penalty minutes between the Muskegon Lumberjacks (31-18-1-1, 64 pts.) and Youngstown Phantoms (27-16-4-4, 62 pts) actually started out as an offensive battle with 7 goals in just the first period. In the end though the Phantoms pulled away for the 7-4 win to avoid the weekend sweep.
 
Youngstown jumped out to an early 2-0 lead with goals from Michael Munroe and Connor De Haro at the 3:01 and 4:01 marks respectfully.
 
A power play just a minute later gave the Jacks an opportunity to cut the deficit in half. Joe Connor (Amherst, NH) sent the puck to the near side of the ice for Ethan Whitcomb (St. Catherines, ON, CAN). While the puck came towards the nearside Sacha Boisvert (Trois-Rivieres, QC, CAN) moved towards the middle of the slot. Whitcomb tapped a pass up to Boisvert who ripped a shot to the back of the net for his 100^th career point in the USHL. Boisvert's goal was his 30^th of the season which ties him for third in the USHL.
 
Another pair of goals in quick succession came for the Phantoms as they took a 4-1 lead for the second time on the weekend (Friday night the Lumberjacks erased three different 3 goal deficits to earn a 6-5 SO win). The first came at the 10:39 mark from Kuzma Voronin while the other from Ryan Botterill at 12:11.
 
Muskegon found themselves on the power play for a second time, and again took advantage of the opportunity. This time around Xavier Veilleux (L'Anncienne-Lorrette, QC, CAN) slid a pass across the zone to Justin Solovey (Holmdel, NJ). Solovey received the pass and settled the pass and fired a shot past the netminder for his 19^th goal of the season.
 
Before the end of the period the Lumberjacks brought the score back to within one with a goal beautiful goal from the Captain Cody Croal (North Branch, MN). Cooper Pierson (Zionsville, IN) lead a 2-on-1 rush into the offensive zone up the far side wall. Pierson sent a pass across the bottom of the hashmarks to Ty Henricks (Mission Viejo, CA) who one-touched the pass to the third man high, Croal. With the net empty thanks to the quality passing Croal just had to tap the puck across the goal line.
 
The second period wasn't as nice to the Lumberjacks with three straight goals coming for the phantoms. The first one came at the 4:15 mark belonging to Adam Pietila who also scored the third goal of the period at the 8:18 mark. In the middle Charlie Cerrato added one of his own.
 
The third period saw a shift in the game from offense to physicality. A fight between Solovey and Connor De Haro started the party. Then, a collision deep in the Youngstown zone between Matvei Gridin (Kurgan, RUS) and Munroe lead to all 5 skaters on the ice for both teams earning 10 minute misconducts. One last fight came between Wilson Dahlheimer (Big Lake, MN) and Coleson Hanrahan as the game started to die down. One last scrum at center ice teased the fans with the possibility of an 8^th fight of the period, but a quick separation by the officials kept the game on the rails.
 
Shikhabudtin Gadzhiev (Makhachkala, RUS) started the game, but only lasted 12:11 before being replaced by Miles Roberts (4-2-0-0) for the rest of the game. Aiden Wright earned the win for the Phantoms.
 
The Jacks return home to Trinity Health Arena for a lengthy 4-game home stand with the first two games coming next weekend against the Dubuque Fighting Saints. The games 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!