WATERLOO, IA – After a commanding win on Friday night, the Muskegon Lumberjacks (10-2-0-0, 20 pts.) continued the domination with a second straight 5-2 win over the Waterloo Black Hawks (2-7-0-1, 5 pts.) to earn the weekend and season series sweep. With the win, the Jacks are the first team in the USHL to 20 points in the standings.
 
A trio of goals in the second period helped them take a commanding lead into the final frame of regulation. First, Nick Koering (Eden Prairie, MN) finished off a pretty passing play after starting the rush to the offensive zone with an interception in the middle of the ice. Koering took the puck and slid it up to Chuck Blanchard (West Hartford, CT) at the Waterloo blue line. Blanchard tapped it across the zone to Anthony Thomas-Maroon (St. Louis, MO), cutting towards the net. Rather than firing a shot, Thomas-Maroon fired a pass to the back door where Koering met the puck for an easy tap-in goal just 7:28 into the period.
 
Just 1:20 later, the Jacks scored another goal. This time, Niles Benson (Tampa, FL) made his way into the offensive zone and embarrassed a defenseman with a nifty move before firing a shot to the back of the net. Before the end of the frame, Benson added another goal. With Melvin Novotny (Stockholm, SWE) providing a screen in front, Benson worked down the slot before sending another shot to the back of the net.
 
The third period featured a pair of goals on both sides of the ice, resulting in the same final score as Friday's game. The Jacks struck first just 3:06 into the period when Viktor Norringer (Kungsbacka, SWE) sent a beautiful pass across the slot to Drew Stewart (Minnetonka, MN) on their way into the offensive zone. Stewart one-timed the puck to the back of the net for his 6^th goal of the season.
 
A pair of goals followed for the Hawks, making the game interesting. Adyn Merrick scored his at the 9:05 mark before adding an assist on Morgan Brady's goal at the 16:13 mark to make the score 4-2 in favor of the Lumberjacks.
 
Late in regulation, the Hawks looked to capitalize on their momentum and pulled their goalie in favor of the extra attacker. Tynan Lawrence (Fredericton, NB, CAN) sent the puck down the ice, where Norringer met the puck in the corner and brought it out to the front of the net before scoring his 5^th goal of the season.
 
Carl Axelsson (Danderyd, SWE) (7-1-0-0) earned his USHL-leading 7^th win of the season with 12 saves on 14 shots against. JJ Salajko (1-2-0-0) earned the loss on his record with 4 goals against on 28 shots fired by the Jacks.
 
Next up is a single game Thursday for the Lumberjacks against the USNTDP Under-18 Team next week. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m. at USA Hockey Arena. Catch the action for free on the Lumberjacks Hockey Network on Mixlr or USAHockeyTV.