MUSKEGON, MI – With the season on the line and fighting to live another day, the Muskegon Lumberjacks showed what makes them so dangerous to play against in the postseason with a commanding 4-2 win over the Dubuque Fighting Saints on Saturday night. The Game 4 win forces the Eastern Conference Semifinal series to a decisive Game 5 in Dubuque on Tuesday.
 
There was more offense between the two teams in the first period than either the second or third periods, but the goalies stayed perfect through the opening frame, sending the teams back to the locker rooms deadlocked at 0-0.
 
"The first period was kind of like a ping pong match with a little bit of back and forth." Said Lumberjacks Head Coach Colten St. Clair. "We had to settle in a bit in the second period, and obviously we stuck to our game, and made some plays out there." He continued.
 
A three-goal second period helped the Lumberjacks create separation from the Saints on the scoreboard, starting with a goal from Jack Christ (Chaska, MN) 1:52 into the frame. The puck was wrapped around the boards in the Dubuque zone by Rudolfs Berzkalns (Cesis, LAT) to Christ on the far side wall. Christ cut towards the middle and carried the puck on his forehand to the near circle, where he fired a shot past the Dubuque goalie. Nathan Larioza (Los Gatos, CA) picked up the secondary assist, his 5^th of the playoffs, on the play.
 
Viktor Norringer (Kungsbacka, SWE) added a goal while on an Auto Owners Insurance Power Play to make it 2-0 with 12:01 to play in the period. Adam Belusko (Kosice, SVK) sent a pass to Drew Stewart (Minnetonka, MN) at the near side of the net in the Dubuque zone. Stewart slid the puck across the slot to Norringer on the far side, where he ripped it into the top corner of the net.
 
The penalty kill was strong for the Lumberjacks as well, leading to a goal in the final two minutes of the period. Louis Jonerheim (Lund, SWE) left the penalty box and chased the puck through the neutral zone on the far side of the ice. Picking up possession and moving down the wall, Jonerheim hit the brakes at the hash marks and slid a pass to Berzkalns, who was following the play. Berzkalns made the extra pass to Stewart on the near side for an easy shot to the back of the net.
 
Heading back onto the ice for the third period, the Jacks were without Larioza, who was ejected for a slew-footing penalty after a challenge for a missed major penalty at the end of the second period. The ejection was associated with a 5-minute penalty in which the Jacks found the back of the net while shorthanded. Melvin Novotny (Stockholm, SWE) carried the puck up the far side of the ice and centered a pass for Stewart in the middle of the Dubuque zone. Stewart beat the goalie for his second goal of the game, making the score 4-0 in favor of Muskegon.
 
Stewart shared post-game, "I think everyone contributed a lot, and everyone is doing the little things to win the game. Everyone was pulling the rope in the same direction tonight, so that was a lot of fun."
 
A pair of goals for the Saints helped keep the score close, but it wasn't enough to finish the comeback effort. Both goals came off the stick of Michael Barron. The first was a power play goal at the 4:10 mark of the period. The second came with 5:32 left in regulation.
 
Carl Axelsson (Danderyd, SWE) (4-2) earned the win on his playoff record with an impressive 31 saves on 33 shots against. Vojtech Hambalek (2-2) earned the loss on his record with 34 saves on 38 shots sent his way.
 
The series shifts back to Dubuque for game five on Tuesday night. Puck drop is scheduled for 8:05 pm ET at ImOn Arena. The winner of the game will advance to the Eastern Conference Finals, where they will face the Madison Capitols in a best-of-five series.
 
Catch the action on FloHockey, or for free on the Lumberjacks Hockey Network on Mixlr. Fans in Muskegon should head downtown to Carlisle's to watch the game at the official Lumberjacks watch party.