MUSKEGON, MI - Needing to right the ship, the Muskegon Lumberjacks (33-20-0-1, 67 pts.) took to the ice at Trinity Health Arena on Friday night against the Chicago Steel (25-21-6-2, 58 pts.). A complete 60-minute domination helped the Lumberjacks return to the win column.
 
The start of the game was perfect for the Lumberjacks, who took a 1-0 lead just 27 seconds in. After winning the opening draw, the Lumberjacks entered the offensive zone and put a couple of quick shots on net. The Steel gained possession and looked to clear the zone, but the puck bounced towards the middle of the slot, where Carter Sanderson (Pierre, SD) tapped it to Melvin Novotny (Stockholm, SWE) at the top of the crease. Novotny moved across the front of the net towards the far side, out waiting the goalie before lifting the puck to the back of the net for his 20^th goal of the season.
 
Not long after, the Steel found themselves on a power play after a Lumberjacks too many men on the ice penalty. Timothy Kazda kept the puck in the offensive zone after the Lumberjacks failed to get it across the blue line on the near side boards. Kazda carried the puck down the slot towards the net and fired a shot into the bottom left corner for his 18^th goal of the year, and 4^th in the last 3 games.
 
All the remaining goals came in the second period, and all came in favor of the Lumberjacks in three different ways. The first goal gave the Jacks a 2-1 lead 5:42 into the second period. Sanderson picked up a loose puck at the top of the Lumberjacks' zone while killing off a penalty. Sanderson skated up the ice along with Rudolfs Berzkalns (Cesis, LAT). Sanderson skated up the near side and shaded towards the middle of the slot, causing the goalie to move in his crease. Sanderson then sent a shot back to the near corner of the net for his second point of the game, and 15^th goal of the season.
 
The next goal was scored at even strength at the 13:38 mark by Nathan Larioza (Los Gatos, CA). Jack Christ (Chaska, MN) sent the puck up the ice to Chuck Blanchard (West Hartford, CT), who entered the offensive zone on the far side of the ice. Larioza jumped up in the play and made his way to the back post where Blanchard sent him a pass for an easy back door tap-in on the back door.
 
With one shorthanded goal and one even-strength goal, it was fitting for the Lumberjacks to add a power-play goal before the end of the period. Niles Benson (Tampa, FL) got the puck in the middle of the slot during a hectic play. Rather than firing a shot into a sea of bodies, Benson slid a pass to the far side for Novotny in the middle of the face-off circle. Novotny quickly sent the puck up to Drew Stewart (Minnetonka, MN) at the top of the slot for a one-timer goal, making it 4-1 with 4:27 to play in the period.
 
No goals came in the third period for the Lumberjacks despite a barrage of shots on goal. In the end, the Jacks led the shots 52-17 after recording 20 in the first period, 13 in the second period, and another 19 in the third frame.
 
Carl Axelsson (Danderyd, SWE) (25-11-0-0) wasn't tasked with many shots against but played well in the action he did see to earn his 25^th win of the season. Louis-Felix Charrois (10-12-0-1) earned the loss on his record despite a strong stat line of 46 saves on 52 shots against in 60 minutes of action.
 
The home-and-home series shifts to Chicago and the Fox Valley Ice Arena on Saturday night. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:05 pm EDT on FloHockey, the official live stream partner of the USHL, and the Lumberjacks Hockey Network on Mixlr.