CEDAR RAPIDS, IA – The only trip this season to ImOn Ice Arena in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, comes this weekend for the Muskegon Lumberjacks as part of a two-game set against the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders. Both teams enter week 10 of the regular season after splitting their games last weekend on road trips, though for the Lumberjacks, the Saturday night loss was a small bump in a spectacular start to the season. Cedar Rapids, on the other hand, sits in the middle of the Eastern Conference with a record just above .500 over their last 10 games.
The weekend series in Cedar Rapids provides former Riders with an opportunity to play against their former squad. Both
Drew Stewart (Minnetonka, MN) and
Chuck Blanchard (West Hartford, CT) started their USHL careers in Black and Green before being traded to Muskegon.
Week 10 Preview: New Faces, Old Friends
It is always an emotional night when you return to an arena you once called home, and for a pair of Lumberjacks, that opportunity comes this week. Both
Drew Stewart and
Chuck Blanchard started their Junior Hockey careers as members of the Cedar Rapids Rough Riders. Two games into the 2024-25 season, Stewart was traded to the Lumberjacks. Right before the start of the 2025-26 season, Blanchard made the same move to the lakeshore. The night can be just as, if not more, emotional for another Lumberjack,
Brock Fairbanks (Oakdale, MN), who could make his USHL debut after being acquired by the Lumberjacks earlier this week.
As for how the teams are doing this season, one is over the moon, while the other is hoping to find a little consistency to close out the first half. The Lumberjacks are on track for the greatest single season in USHL history. After an amazing 15-3-0-0 start through the first 18 games, the Jacks are on pace for a 52-10-0-0 record and 104 points. That is one game ahead of the 2023-24 Fargo Force squad, which doubled as Anderson and Clark Cup Champions.
Success has come on the back of a few different players rather than just one person carrying the whole load. More than anyone, the goaltenders in Muskegon have been spectacular to start the year.
Carl Axelsson (Danderyd, SWE) and
Will Keane (West Bloomfield, MI) are both top 5 in the USHL in goals against average and save percentage. Axelsson has 10 wins on his record, pacing all USHL goalies.
Across the ice, the RoughRiders have taken a bit of a different approach to the game. All. Out. Offense. Only two teams in the USHL have scored at least 70 goals this season. The Dubuque Fighting Saints, who are right behind the Jacks in the standings, and the RoughRiders. The heavy offensive output creates opportunities for the opposition, and the Riders' inability to prevent goals has led to plenty of high-scoring affairs. Despite having the second-highest scoring offense in the league, they sit in 5th place in the Eastern Conference with the 6th-most goals against.
Three Riders are tied for the team lead in goals with 8, including Jason Musa and Justin Graf, who are both over a point per game. Grant Young had missed some time in the early part of the season, but since returning has picked up a couple of 3-point performances.
A leader on and off the ice for the Lumberjacks, Stewart is in his 4
th USHL season. Originally from Minnetonka, MN, Stewart played high school hockey at Benilde-St. Margaret's before jumping to the USHL with the RoughRiders.
After appearing in 2 games as an affiliate in 2022-23, Stewart was a full-time player in Cedar Rapids during the 2023-24 season, playing 53 games. At the start of the next campaign, Stewart was traded to Muskegon after just 3 games. In his 57 games, Stewart recorded 29 points and helped the Jacks to the first Clark Cup title in franchise history.
This season, Stewart has seen his point production grow more than nearly every other player in the USHL. In 18 games, Stewart has 19 points on 12 goals and 7 assists. He is a difference maker on both the power play and penalty kill and is Head Coach
Colten St. Clair's favorite option when the team needs to win a big faceoff.
As a 2005 birth year, Stewart is playing his final season of Junior Hockey and will make the jump to the NCAA at season's end. He is committed to play hockey and continue his education at Dartmouth College in the ECAC.
Over the Airwaves
FloHockey is the official live stream partner of the Muskegon Lumberjacks. Follow along all season long on FloHockey, or with a free internet radio feed available on Mixlr and the Lumberjacks Hockey Network, with Voice of the Jacks,
Ezra Gennello.
Thirty minutes to puck drop every game day, tune into the Pregame Show on Facebook Live. New for this season, the whole pregame show will be available on FloHockey before all Lumberjacks home games.
Upcoming Games
Fri. November 21 | 8:05 pm EST | at Cedar Rapids
Sat. November 22 | 8:05 pm EST | at Cedar Rapids
Thurs. November 27 | 7:00 pm EST | at USNTDP Under-17 Team
Fri. November 29 | 7:00 pm EST | vs Dubuque
Sat. November 30 | 6:00 pm EST | vs Dubuque
Follow the Jacks
Be sure to follow the Muskegon Lumberjacks on social media!
Facebook - Muskegon Lumberjacks
Twitter - @MuskegonJacks
Instagram - @muskegonjacks
TikTok – @muskegonlumberjacks
About the Muskegon Lumberjacks
The Muskegon Lumberjacks are proud and dedicated members of the United States Hockey League (USHL), the nation's only Tier I junior hockey league and leading producer of NCAA players and National Hockey League draft picks in the United States. The club's goal is to create an environment where student-athletes develop into successful young men both on and off the ice, including playing the game the right way while maintaining their academic focus in the classroom and staying actively involved in the West Michigan community. The organization is committed to providing high-quality, affordable, and top-notch family entertainment while serving as positive role models for the youth and local community.
