MUSKEGON, MI – The #4 Muskegon Lumberjacks will have to wait one more day and win one more game in order to advance to the second round of the Clark Cup Playoffs after falling 4-3 on Tuesday night to the #5 Cedar Rapids RoughRiders.
The momentum at the start of the game belonged to the RoughRiders, resulting in a power-play goal 7:31 into the game. Martin Masa kept the puck in the offensive zone on the near side of the blue line and sent a pass across the zone to John McNelis. With plenty of space to work, McNelis carried the puck down the far side of the ice towards the faceoff dot where he wired a shot to the back of the net for his first goal of the post season.
Both goals in the second period belonged to the Jacks, helping them tie the game and take a lead back into the locker room. First, at 15:50 of the period, the Jacks were on a Mackenzie Price Power Play with a faceoff on the far side of the RoughRider's zone.
Ivan Ryabkin (Balakovo, RUS) won the draw with a little help from
Vaclav Nestrasil (Praha, CZE), who came in from the outside wing. Nestrasil slid the puck to
Tynan Lawrence (Fredericton, NB, CAN) in the slot, leading to a wicked shot to the back of the net.
Just over a minute later, the Jacks struck again.
Jack Christ (Chaska, MN) sent the puck to the far side corner of the Cedar Rapids zone for
Matthew Van Blaricom (Southey, SK, CAN) to receive. As he picked up the puck, Van Blaricom sent it toward the top of the crease, where
Chase Stefanek (Yorba Linda, CA) wacked it across the goal line for his first goal of the postseason.
Twenty minute from advancing to the next round the Jacks started the third period off with another goal. Lawrence picked up the puck in his own zone and carried it behind the net and to the far side of the ice. Picking up speed the whole way, Lawrence moved all the way down the ice to the doorstep of the RoughRider's goal before lifting a shot to the back of the net for his second goal of the game and to give the Jacks a 3-1 lead with just under 19 minute to play.
Three straight goals followed for Cedar Rapids. Grant Young scored the first when he banged home a rebound at the top of the crease at the 3:33 mark of the frame.
Then, Kole Hyles won a faceoff on the near side of the Jacks' zone and found himself with the puck on the faceoff dot. Hyles ripped a shot to the back of the net to tie the game 3-3.
In the final minute of the game, the puck popped to the middle of the slot in the Lumberjacks' zone, and as the five-hole opened up, Heath Nelson put the puck in the right spot to slide into the back of the net to take a 4-3 lead with just59 seconds left to play.
Stephen Peck (New York, NY) (1-1-0) earned the loss with 22 saves on 26 shots sent his way. AJ Reyelts (1-1-0) stopped 15 of 18 shots to secure the win and keep his team alive for another game.
With the RoughRiders' win, the series stands at 1-1, with one game remaining on Wednesday night. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Trinity Health Arena. Get tickets and more information at muskegonlumberjacks.com.
