DE PERE, WI – A game that saw 88 penalty minutes between the Muskegon Lumberjacks (1-2-0-0) and Madison Capitols (1-2-0-0) also saw the Jacks jump out to a 3-0 lead before falling by an eventual final score of 5-3.
Scoring was opened in the first period when
Rudolfs Berzkalns (Cesis, LAT) found the back of the net at the 8:47 mark.
Vaclav Nestrasil (Praha, CZE) picked up the secondary assist on Berzkalns second goal of the preseason.
Two more goals came for the Lumberjacks in the early stages of the second period to extend the lead to 3-0. First, at the 2:02 mark
David Klee (Castle Rock, CO) finished a play started by
Barrett Dexheimer (Edina, MN) and
Tynan Lawrence (Fredericton, NB, CAN). For Klee it is his first goal of the preseason in just his first action of the new year.
Dexheimer picked up his second assist of the game just two minutes later when the Jacks struck for a power play goal.
Cooper Pierson (Zionsville, IN) was the goal scorer with the primary assist coming from
Teddy Spitznagel (Bloomfield Hills, MI).
From then on it was all about the Capitols. Mason Moe scored a pair of goals at the 12:45 and 16:28 marks respectively while Mason Majewski added a third with just over two minutes to go in the period to tie the game 3-3.
Another two goals came in the third period for Madison. Finn Brink capitalized on a power play halfway through the frame to give the Caps the lead, and Moe completed the hat trick with an empty net goal in the final minute to complete the comeback and give Madison the 5-3 win.
Muskegon went a modest 1/5 (20%) on the power play, but shined on the penalty kill boasting a 7/8 (87.5%) rate. Madison was 1/8 (12.5%) on the advantage, and 4/5 (80%) on the kill in the penalty filled affair.
Shikhabudtin Gadzhiev (Makhachkala, RUS) (0-1) earned the loss in his first game of the preseason with 37 saves on 41 shots against. Madison started the game with Kyle Ozgun in the crease, but after allowing 3 goals on 21 shots the Caps turned to Caleb Heil (1-0). In relief Heil turned aside all 11 shots he faced in the second half of the contest.
The Jacks close out the preseason with a game tomorrow against the Waterloo Black Hawks. Puck drop is scheduled for 4:30 pm ET at the Cornerstone Community Ice Center, and can be watched on LiveBarn.com.
