MUSKEGON, MI – Pick any cliché you want: "Game's not over until the fat lady sings," "Don't count your chickens before they hatch," "don't put the cart before the horse," or anything else that comes to mind. They all fit for Friday night's match up between the Muskegon Lumberjacks (30-15-0-1, 61 pts.) and Sioux City Musketeers (24-18-3-2, 53 pts.). Three goals in the final 5 minutes of the game helped Sioux City earn a stunning 4-3 win.
It was clear from puck drop that there was tension between the two teams, with physicality and chirping dominating the early stages of the game. A fight between
Carter Amico (Westbrook, ME) and Travis Poliski helped the Jacks take momentum, leading to a shorthanded goal before the end of the frame. Neither player would see the ice again after the fight was deemed "staged," resulting in the ejection of both players.
With
Chuck Blanchard (West Hartford, CT) sitting in the box,
Viktor Norringer (Kungsbacka, SWE) forced the puck out of the defensive zone on the near side of the ice.
Drew Stewart (Minnetonka, MN) recognized the opportunity for a shorthanded breakaway and flew up the middle of the ice, receiving a pass from Norringer behind the defense. In a play eerily similar to Stewart's shorthanded goal last weekend, he used his forehand to slide the puck across the goal line, giving the Jacks a 1-0 lead with 3 minutes to play in the period.
Two goals for
Melvin Novotny (Stockholm, SWE) in the middle stages of the second period gave the Lumberjacks a commanding 3-0 lead. First, Novotny held the puck in the middle of the Sioux City zone and found a way to keep it even after a Musketeer had poked it off his stick. Novotny took advantage of a screen in front of the crease and beat the goalie with a fluky goal 7:14 into the frame.
At the 13:50 mark of the period, Novotny scored his second goal of the game. Stewart fired a shot from the near side of the slot that was blocked, sending the puck onto Novotny's stick in the low slot. A pass to Norringer on the far side led to a return pass to Novotny on the near side for an easy back-door tap-in.
The trio of Stewart (1g, 1a), Novotny (2g), and Norringer (2a) combined for all of the Lumberjacks' offense on the score sheet, helping all three players stay at or near a point per game production rate on the season.
Just over three minutes after Novotny extended the Lumberjacks' lead to 3-0, the Musketeers found the back of the net to cut the deficit down to a pair of goals. Luke Garry fired a shot on net from the near side wall that was stopped, but produced a loose puck in the crease. Daniel D'Alessandro dropped down from his position on the blue line and tapped the puck to the back of the net for his first career USHL goal.
The wheels fell off the bus in the final moments of regulation, surrendering three straight goals starting at the 14:49 mark of the third period. Darik Olsen fired a shot from the near side of the blue line that found its way through a sea of bodies in the low slot and into the net.
The game was tied with 3:28 left in regulation when Gavin Garry hammered home a one-time blast from the middle of the slot thanks to an assist from his brother Luke. After a video review for an illegal high stick redirection, the goal on the ice was confirmed legal, and the game was tied 3-3.
With just 47 seconds left to play, Elias Vatne tapped a loose puck from the low slot to the back of the net to stun the Lumberjacks and give the Musketeers their first lead of the game.
The final moments of regulation saw the Jacks put a couple of great chances on net, but in the end, Sioux City completed the four-goal comeback win. They did so on the back of a lights-out performance from Ryder Shea (10-2-0-0), who stopped 38 of the 41 shots he faced.
Carl Axelsson (Danderyd, SWE) (23-8-0-0) earned the loss on his record with 23 saves on 27 shots against.
Saturday night at 6 p.m., the teams close out the weekend and season-long series. Each team has a win against the other this season, with the Lumberjacks coming back in week one of the regular season, 3-2 (OT) in Pittsburgh at the Fall Classic.
Tickets are available at muskegonlumberjacks.com or by calling 231-799-700, starting at just $15. Can't get to the game? Catch the action on the official live stream partner of the Muskegon Lumberjacks, FloHockey, and for free on the Lumberjacks Hockey Network on Mixlr.
