YOUNGSTOWN, OH – Special teams was the name of the game Saturday night as the Muskegon Lumberjacks (31-17-1-1, 64 pts.) and Youngstown Phantoms (26-16-4-4, 60 pts.) were both scoreless at 5-on-5. The Jacks won the battle with a 3-2 win to regain second place in the USHL's Eastern Conference.
Youngstown opened the scoring for the second straight night, and again it was Nathan Lewis who did so. Andrew Strathman sent the puck from the top of the blue line to the nearside circle and Ryan Botterill. The initial shot from Botterill was turned aside by
Shikhabudtin Gadzhiev (Makhachkala, RUS), but Lewis was ready and waiting at the top of the crease to bury the rebound halfway through the first period.
Muskegon tied the game back up in the second period with a power play goal of their own at the 5:22 mark.
Sacha Boisvert (Trois-Rivieres, QC, CAN) carried the puck up the far side wall and head manned it to
Matvei Gridin (Kurgan, RUS). After carrying the puck down the wall to the corner Gridin sent it back up the wall to
Ethan Whitcomb (St. Catherines, ON, CAN) who returned it to Gridin after a moment. From the near impossible angle Gridin lifted the puck between the shoulder of Colin Winn and the post for his team leading 30
th goal of the season.
Again the Phantoms took a lead with a power play goal at the 12:17 mark. Charlie Cerrato carried the puck off the nearside wall and around the top of the circle as he moved across the slot. With the puck on his forehand Cerrato ripped a shot to the back of the net for the second Youngstown power play goal of the game.
It wasn't long before the Jacks responded to tie the game once more. Just 3 minutes later while skating 4-on-4
Cooper Pierson (Zionsville, IN) chipped the puck from the far side across the neutral zone to
Cody Croal (North Branch, MN). In one motion Croal took the pass and chipped it past the defense and chased after it into the Youngstown zone. Meeting the puck in the lower slot Croal went forehand to backhand before roofing the puck for his 19
th goal of the season.
Just one goal came in the third period, and it belonged to the Lumberjacks. Just 2:42 into the frame the Jacks found themselves back on the power play. From the far side Gridin sent a pass to
Xavier Veilleux (L'Anncienne-Lorrette, QC, CAN) at the blue line. Veilleux took a shot pass that met
Joe Connor's (Amherst, NH) stick in front. Connor redirected the pass into the back of the net giving Muskegon the eventual winning score of 3-2. Gridin's two point night gives him 69 on the season which ranks #1 in the USHL.
Gadhziev (11-6-0-0) earned the win by stopping 26 of the 28 shots he faced through the contest. Winn (7-7-1-2) earned the loss with 3 goals against on only 16 shots fired by the Lumberjacks in 60 minutes of play.
The teams close the three game weekend series tomorrow afternoon at 4 p.m. at the Covelli Centre. 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.
Head on over to the Marine Tap Room in Muskegon for the official Lumberjacks watch party. Enjoy some drinks and the game, and enter to win a Lumberjacks jersey raffle at the event.
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!
