MUSKEGON, MI – Tied heading to the final minute of the game,
Vaclav Nestrasil (Praha, CZE) caused a turnover and scored a goal to give the Muskegon Lumberjacks a 2-1 lead and a 1-0 series lead in the first-round matchup against the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders.
With the win, the Lumberjacks take a 1-0 lead in the first-round best-of-three series and are one win away from advancing to the second round to take on the Youngstown Phantoms.
Scoring opened late in the first period with a goal from
Jack Galanek (Hopkinton, MA). A faceoff on the far side of the Cedar Rapids zone saw the RoughRiders a bit out of sorts as they decided how to line up for the draw.
David Klee (Castle Rock, CO) took advantage of the opportunity and won the faceoff back to Galanek at the top of the circle. As fast as the puck was on his stick, it was off and in the back of the net to give the Jacks a 1-0 lead.
Last season, Galanek appeared in all eight post-season games for the Jacks and recorded 1 goal in that span. His two points tonight started his 2025 playoffs out on the right foot.
It took until the third period for Cedar Rapids to respond. Daniel Astopovich took the puck away from a Jacks defenseman deep in the Muskegon zone and slid a pass to Amine Hajibi inside the far side circle. Hajibi fired a shot to the back of the net to tie the game 1-1 with 15 minutes to play in regulation.
The Jacks struck to take a lead with 4 minutes to go, but following a video review, the goal was overturned for goaltender interference, and the game remained tied. Only for another 3 minutes, though. Nestrasil chased a puck behind the Cedar Rapids net and took it away from the Riders' goalie. After popping it to the top of the crease, Galanek Nestrasil parked on the far side of the crease and received a back door rebound for an easy tap-in to give the Jacks the lead with just over 1 minute to play.
Stephen Peck (New York, NY) (1-0-0) earned his first career USHL playoff win with 31 saves on 32 shots. AJ Reyelts (0-1-0) stopped 26 of 28 shots sent his way in the losing effort.
Tomorrow night, the Jacks and Riders play game 2 of the best-of-three series. If Muskegon wins, they move onto the second round and a matchup against the Youngstown Phantoms. If Cedar Rapids wins, the series will go until the decisive game three on Wednesday night.
Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Trinity Health Arena. Get tickets and more information at muskegonlumberjacks.com.
