MUSKEGON, MI – Looking to repeat the same result as Friday night, the Muskegon Lumberjacks (33-13-4-4, 74 pts.) took to the ice at Trinity Health Arena against the Green Bay Gamblers (25-26-1-2, 53 pts.) on Saturday Night. A dominant performance led the way for a 6-3 win to extend the win streak to 5 games.
 
One goal came in the first period for the Lumberjacks to take a 1-0 lead into the first intermission.  A routine play saw Jake Toll (Rosemount, MN) dump the puck into the offensive zone. A weird bounce off the glass sent the glass to the low slot despite the netminder leaving the crease to corral the puck behind the net. David Deputy (Gurnee, IL) was in the perfect place to receive the puck and put it in the empty net with just over a minute to play in the period.
 
Coming out of the intermission, the Gamblers held the momentum and capitalized on a power play opportunity just 2 minutes into the second period. Aidan Park redirected a shot from Lukas Peterson to the back of the net to tie the game 1-1. Peterson leads the USHL in assists from defensemen now with 35 this season.
 
The next three goals belonged to the lumberjacks, starting with a tally from Tynan Lawrence (Fredericton, NB, CAN) at the 6:22 mark of the frame. Jack Galanek (Hopkinton, MA) made his way into the offensive zone from Xavier Veilleux (L'Ancienne-Lorrette, QC, CAN) on the near side of the Jacks blue line. Galanek forwarded a pass behind the defense to Lawrence at the top of the crease. Lawrence tapped the puck between the goalies legs to regain the Jacks lead.
 
Soon after, the Jacks added another goal. This time, it was Matthew Van Blaricom (Southey, SK, CAN) who found the back of the net. Kurt Gurkan (Darien, CT) jumped on the ice and caught a pass on the far side of the ice before sliding a pass back to the near side for Van Blaricom to one-time to the back of the net.
 
A full-line effort saw Galanek add the next goal at the 15-minute mark. Vaclav Nestrasil (Praha, CZE) sent the puck to the near side corner for David Klee (Castle Rock, CO). Klee sent a pass to the front of the net for Galanek to wack to the back of the cage.
 
Green Bay responded at the 17:30 mark when Pavel Bocharov fired a shot as he dropped from the blue line down the near side of the ice.
 
Before the end of the period, Nestrasil added a shorthanded goal to give the Jacks a 5-2 lead heading into the second intermission. While shorthanded, Nestrasil applied a strong forecheck with help from Klee to cause a turnover in the Green Bay zone. Klee sent a pass down to Nestrasil alone in front of the crease for an easy goal for his 4^th point of the weekend.
 
Looking to mount a comeback, the Gamblers found the back of the back of the net to start the third period. The USHL league leader in goals Will Zellers received a pass in the middle of the slot from Aidan Park and fired a shot to the back of the net to keep his team in the game.
 
Drew Stewart (Minnetonka, MN) laid a check in the middle of the ice to win possession and send the puck to the empty net in the dying stages of the game to give the Jacks the 6-3 win.
 
Stephen Peck (New York, NY) (17-5-2-3) earned the win with 25 saves on 28 shots faced. Roberto Henriquez (3-8-0-0) earned the loss on his record with 29 saves on 34 shots.
 
Tomorrow afternoon, the Jacks and Gamblers close the weekend series with a game at 3 p.m. at Trinity Health Arena. Get tickets and more information at muskegonlumberjacks.com.