CANONSBURG, PA – The wins and losses in the preseason don't matter in the standings, but it's always nice to start the new year on the right foot, and the Muskegon Lumberjacks did just that with a 3-2 win over the Youngstown Phantoms in their first action of the preseason.
It didn't take long for the Jacks to score their first goal of the 2025 Preseason; in fact, it took just 19 seconds. After a Youngstown icing sent the play back to the Phantom's zone,
Rudolfs Berzkalns (Cesis, LAT) leaned in for the offensive zone face-off. Berzkalns won the puck back to
Danny Klaers (Wayzata, MN), who then carried it towards the far side wall. Klaers turned and slid a perfect pass to
Adam Belusko (Kosice, SVK) in the middle of the ice, allowing for a shot from a high-scoring area. Belusko used a one-time release to sneak the puck between the legs of the Youngstown netminder for his first goal of the preseason.
Later in the first period, the Jacks struck again to take a 2-0 lead. A textbook forecheck started with
Gustas Zemaitis (Barrington, IL), forcing the goalie to rim the puck around the far side of the zone.
Jack Christ (Chaska, MN) met the puck on the wall and centered it for
Ethan Drabicki (Livonia, MI). With the goalie out of his crease, Drabicki fired a shot to the back of the net to double the Jacks' lead 2-0.
No one found the back of the net, but the Phantoms cut the deficit in half under a minute into the third period. Evan Jardine made his way down the middle of the slot in the Jacks' zone and ripped his shot to the back of the net.
Giving his team a little bit of insurance,
Viktor Norringer (Kungsbacka, SWE) capitalized on a loose puck in the low slot.
Ty Bergeron (Flat Rock, MI) and
Melvin Novotny (Stockholm, SWE) worked together to get the puck to the top of the crease, where it found its way onto Norringer's stick. A quick release sent the puck to the top corner of the net, making it 3-1 Muskegon.
Youngstown added a goal in the late stages of the game from Brayden Thompson but wasn't able to complete the comeback.
Carl Axelsson (Danderyd, SWE) (1-0) earned the win with 19 saves on 21 shots against. Youngstown split the game between goalies, allowing a combined 3 goals on 16 shots.
Game 2 of the preseason takes place tomorrow afternoon as the Jacks face off against the Phantoms at 3 p.m. at Printscape Arena. Catch the action on the official Live Stream Partner of the Lumberjacks, FloHockey, and on the Lumberjacks Hockey Network on Mixlr.
