MUSKEGON, MI – The Muskegon Lumberjacks (12-2-0-0, 24 pts.) entered Friday night's game against the Des Moines Buccaneers (6-4-2-3, 17 pts.) with the #1 defense in the USHL, but it was all about the offense in a 6-1 win. Drew Stewart (Minnetonka, MN) recorded his second career hat trick in the USHL as part of the winning effort.
 
Despite the lopsided scoreline in favor of the Lumberjacks, it was actually the Buccaneers who dominated much of the game. Their forecheck was relentless, leading to extended periods of zone time in the Muskegon end of the ice.
 
Halfway through the first period, though, Viktor Norringer (Kungsbacka, SWE) opened the scoring to give the Lumberjacks a 1-0 lead. Adam Belusko (Kosice, SVK) moved the puck up the far side of the ice towards Anthony Thomas-Maroon (St. Louis, MO), who tapped it forward for Norringer. Working 1-on-1 into the offensive zone, Norringer moved towards the near side and ripped a wicked shot to the back of the net for his 6^th goal of the season.
 
Moments later, Stewart scored his first goal of the game by carrying the puck down the near side of the ice and into the offensive zone. Stewart moved all the way to the area between the hash marks and face-off dot before winding up for a full slap shot and powering the puck past the goalie to make it 2-0 Lumberjacks.
 
Coming out of the first intermission, Stewart scored his second goal of the game only 1:04 into the second period. This time, a power-play goal, Rudolfs Berzkalns (Cesis, LAT) held the puck on the far side of the ice and fired a pass across the front of the net to Stewart, who was parked on the back door post. Stewart whacked the puck a couple of times to get it across the goal line to make it 3-0 for the Lumberjacks.
 
On a power play of their own, Des Moines scored a goal to keep the game close before the second intermission. Ryland Rooney held the puck on the far side of the Jacks' zone while Nate DellaDonna worked his way down the near side behind the Muskegon defense. Rooney put a pass on DellaDonna's stick at the side of the net for an easy tap-in goal.
 
The third period is where the Jacks took full control of the game. Just 49 seconds into the period, Stewart completed the hat trick after a drop pass from Norringer left him the puck in a little space on the near side of the Des Moines zone. His knuckle shot beat the goalie over the glove to make it 4-1, Jacks.
 
Thomas-Maroon cashed in a pretty passing play that started with a pretty defensive play from Teddy Lechner (Bloomington, MN), who caused a turnover at the Muskegon blue line. Lechner sent a pass up the middle of the ice to Jackson Walsh (Northville, MI), who carried the puck over the blue line. Feeling the pressure of the defense, Walsh tapped the puck towards Chuck Blanchard (West Hartford, CT), making his way in on a 2-on-1 rush. Blanchard passed off to Thomas-Maroon on the near side for an easy goal and a 5-1 lead.
 
An all-you-can-eat 5-minute power play came for the Lumberjacks with about half the period left to play, though the only goal on the advantage came just 8 seconds into it. Melvin Novotny (Stockholm, SWE) was parked at the top of the crease to redirect a shot from Norringer to the back of the net. The goal capped off a three-point performance for both Swedish-born players.
 
Carl Axelsson (Danderyd, SWE) (8-1-0-0) did exactly what was needed by him, making 21 saves on 22 shots against in the win. Max Weilandt (6-3-2-2) started the game, lasting just over 44 minutes, allowing 5 goals on 17 shots to earn the loss on his record. Andrew Bely entered for the final 4:29 of regulation, making 1 save on 2 shots against.
 
With the win, the Lumberjacks improve their winning streak to 5 games and remain in first place in the USHL. The series closes tomorrow evening for the second game out of three on the weekend for the Lumberjacks. Puck drop is scheduled for 6 p.m. EST at Trinity Health Arena. Get your tickets at muskegonlumberjacks.com.