MUSKEGON, MI – The first round of the Clark Cup Playoffs came down to a win-or-go-home game three on Wednesday night between the #4 Muskegon Lumberjacks and #5 Cedar Rapids RoughRiders. An explosive start for the Jacks saw them score 4 straight goals in the first period enroute to the series clinching 4-1 win.
With the win the Jacks advance to the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals against the Youngstown Phantoms. The schedule for the second round can be found under the "Schedule" tab at muskegonlumberjacks.com.
It took the Jacks only two minutes to find the back of the net.
Drew Stewart (Minnetonka, MN) slid a pass to the far side of the blue line for
Jake Toll (Rosemount, MN). The shot off Toll's stick made its way towards the net along the ice, allowing
Teddy Spitznagel (Bloomfield Hills, MI) to redirect it at the top of the crease to the back of the net.
A few minutes later, the Jacks added another goal to take a 2-0 lead. This time, Stewart fired a shot towards the net from the near side wall of the Cedar Rapids zone. The shot was ankle height in the perfect position for
David Deputy (Gurnee, IL) to tip over the pad of the netminder for his first goal of the postseason.
Later in the period, the Jacks found themselves on an all-you-can-eat 5-minute power play thanks to a cross-checking penalty from a Rider defenseman. After a weird bounce off the stanchion behind the Cedar Rapids net, the puck landed on the stick of
David Klee (Castle Rock, CO) on the far side of the net. Klee tucked the puck between the legs of the netminder to make it 3-0, Jacks, with just under five minutes to play in the period.
On the same power play,
Vaclav Nestrasil (Praha, CZE) and
Jack Galanek (Hopkinton, MA) worked to get the puck to the front of the net, where Spitznagel was causing havoc at the top of the crease. With all of the commotion in front of the net,
Xavier Veilleux (L'Ancienne-Lorrette, QC, CAN) dropped down from the blue line and tapped the puck across the goal line for his first goal of the postseason.
Late in the second period, the Riders scored their lone goal of the game while on a power play. Grant Young fired a shot to the back of the net with assists from Hans-Martin Ulvebne and Thomas Vandenberg with 3:37 to play in the frame.
The Jacks held on for the rest of regulation to skate away with the 4-1 win and win the first round series.
Shikhabutdin Gadzhiev (Makhachkala, RUS) (1-0-0) earned the win with 30 saves on 31 shots against. AJ Reyelts (1-2-0) earned the loss on his record with 30 saves on 34 shots against.
With his two points on Wednesday night, Galanek finished the series as the leading scorer between the two teams with 4 points in 3 games. Galanek is tied for 2
nd among all skaters in the Clark Cup Playoffs.
The Jacks kick off the second round on Saturday night in Youngstown. Game time and more information, as well as the full second-round schedule, can be found at muskegonlumberjacks.com.
