MUSKEGON, MI – The captain lead by example on Friday night.
Cody Croal (North Branch, MN) recorded his 100
th career point on an assist in the second period and scored the game winner in the third as the Muskegon Lumberjacks (32-20-1-1, 66 pts.) defeated the Sioux City Musketeers (31-19-6-0, 68 pts.).
Despite a lopsided first period for the Lumberjacks the score remained 0-0 at the first intermission. It didn't take long for the Jacks to break the ice in the second though. Just 31 seconds into the frame
Ethan Whitcomb (St. Catherines, ON, CAN) slid a pass from behind the net to
David Klee (Castle Rock, CO) in the near side circle. Klee then moved the puck to
Sacha Boisvert (Trois-Rivieres, QC, CAN) in the slot to one-time past the netminder. For Boisvert it is his team leading 31
st goal of the season.
Sioux City got on the board later in the frame at the 5:08 mark when Landen Gunderson sent a pass from below the goal line to Liam Hupka in the near side circle. Hupcka fired a back door pass to Colin Kessler who just had to redirect the puck to the back of the net to tie the game 1-1.
Croal's 100
th point in the USHL came just 5 minutes later when
Joe Connor (Amherst, NH) lead a rush into the offensive zone. Connor crossed the blue line on the far side of the ice and dropped the puck for
Matvei Gridin (Kurgan, RUS) as he moved down towards the net. Instead of sending the pass back down to Connor, Gridin slid a pass across the slot to Croal who returned it back. Gridin then opened up to fire a shot to the back of the net to regain his tie with Boisvert with the team lead in goals, and up his league leading points total to 70 on the season.
When entering the third period with a lead this season the Lumberjacks were 21-0 entering Friday. Sioux City threatened to end that streak when Ty Hanson found the back of the net just :53 seconds into the third period to even the score a 2 apiece.
The tie wouldn't last though. Croal found the back of the net with just under 8 minutes to play to give the Jacks the eventual winning score of 3-2. From behind the net Croal sent a pass to Klee at the top of the crease. Klee's initial shot was turned aside, but produced a rebound in front. Joining the party in front of the net Croal found the rebound and found a way to push it through the crowded crease and into the top of the net for his 21
st goal of the season. His two point performance makes him the 4
th Lumberjack to reach 50 points this season.
Shikhabudtin Gadzhiev (Makhachkala, RUS) (12-8-0-0) earned the win with 21 saves on 23 shots against. Gadzhiev made numerous highlight reel saves to help keep the Jacks in the driver seat. Samuel Urban (13-13-2-0) earned the loss with 34 saves on the 27 shots he faced.
The Jacks and Muskies close the weekend series tomorrow night at 7 p.m. at Trinity Health Arena. For tickets visit muskegonlumberjacks.com. The game can also 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!
