DUBUQUE, IA – Tuesday night brought a decisive game five between the Muskegon Lumberjacks and Dubuque Fighting Saints, with a chance to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals on the line. A dominant effort by the Lumberjacks gave them a 6-1 win and punched their ticket to the ECF for the 7^th time in the last eight Clark Cup Playoffs.
 
A lopsided first period in terms of shots on goal saw the Lumberjacks take a 13-7 advantage back into the locker room for the first intermission, but the score remained tied 1-1 after the opening frame. Dubuque opened the scoring at the 9:03 mark when Luke Brierley sent a shot on goal that was mostly saved but trickled across the goal line. Gavin Lock and Xavier Lieb picked up the assists on the goal.
 
Just over a minute later, the Jacks responded to tie the game halfway through the first period. Teddy Lechner (Bloomington, MN) kept the puck in the offensive zone on the far side of the blue line and centered a pass to Melvin Novotny (Stockholm, SWE) in the middle of the slot. Novotny fired a shot that was redirected to the back of the net by Carter Sanderson (Pierre, SD), bringing the score even.
 
Two goals came in the second period for the Lumberjacks, who carried a 3-1 lead back into the locker room for the second intermission. Adam Belusko (Kosice, SVK) made it 2-0 5:59 into the period, finishing off a pretty shift with a pretty goal. Belusko caused a trio of turnovers during his shift, including one in the neutral zone, allowing him to carry the puck into the Dubuque end.  On his way down the far side of the zone, Belusko fired a shot just above the pad of the goalie for his first goal of the playoffs.
 
At the other end of the period, the Jacks made it 3-1 with a goal from Novotny. Carter Amico (Westbrook, ME) fired a shot along the ice, producing a rebound at the top of the crease. Sanderson took the attention of the defense, allowing Novotny to knock the loose puck to the back of the net with 3:09 to play in the period.
 
Three goals in the third period capped off the Lumberjacks' win and sent the team to the Eastern Conference Finals for the third consecutive year. The first goal came 3:26 into the frame from Rudolfs Berzkalns (Cesis, LAT). Viktor Norringer (Kungsbacka, SWE) slid a pass to Berzkalns in the middle of the Dubuque zone, where he ripped a shot to the back of the net to make it 4-1.
 
An empty net goal followed for Belusko at the 16:15 mark to put the game on ice and an end to Dubuque's comeback effort. Belusko found the puck in the middle of the Jacks' zone and chipped it down the ice. The puck rolled along its edge and into the back of the net for Belusko's second goal of the game.
 
Thirty seconds later, the Jacks added one more goal. Niles Benson (Tampa, FL) kept the puck in the offensive zone while on the near side of the ice and made a pretty move on his way towards the net before roofing the puck over the goalie's shoulder for his second goal of the postseason.
 
Carl Axelsson (Danderyd, SWE) (5-2) stopped 19 of the 20 shots he faced to earn the win on his playoff record. Vojtech Hambalek (2-3) sees his season come to an end with 25 saves on 30 shots faced.
 
The Eastern Conference Finals start on Friday, May 1^st. As the higher seed, the Lumberjacks will host games one and two against the Madison Capitols at Trinity Health Arena. For the full series schedule, tickets, and broadcast options, visit muskegonlumberjacks.com.