CHICAGO, IL – After a quirky loss opened up the Fall Classic on Wednesday, the Muskegon Lumberjacks (1-1-0-0, 2 pts.) looked for their first win of the new season on Thursday afternoon against the Waterloo Black Hawks (0-0-1-0, 1 pt.).
Zaac Charbonneau (Gatineau, QC, CAN) capped off a two-point performance with a power-play, overtime-winning goal to send the Jacks to the win column for the first time.
The Black Hawks opened the scoring with the only goal of the first period. Tomas Malinek sent a pass ahead to Cody Sokol, who skated past the Lumberjacks' defense. Sokol moved the puck to his backhand as he moved across the crease and tucked it inside the far post for his first goal of the season.
While the Lumberjacks would rather forget the first period, the start of the second brought a game-tying goal thanks to a strong forecheck.
Gustas Zemaitis (Barrington, IL) got the puck on the far side of the Waterloo blue line and wrapped the puck around the boards into the zone. Charbonneau met the puck behind the net and skated around the far side before sliding a pass to the middle of the slot, where
Strider Carhart (Sea Girt, NJ) picked up possession and ripped a shot to the back of the net for his first career USHL goal.
Later in the frame, while skating 4-on-4, Noa Nsonsa Kitala picked up the puck in his own zone and carried it all the way up the far end of the ice. Met by a Lumberjacks defenseman at the Muskegon blue line, Nsona Kitala absorbed the contact and moved towards the net before roofing the puck just under the crossbar to make it 2-1 Hawks.
Once again, the Lumberjacks tied the game thanks to a strong start to the period. 6:28 into the final frame of regulation,
Drew Fox (Hickory Creek, TX) knocked down a clearing attempt that the top of the Waterloo zone and slid a pass down the near wall to
Will Schlechtweg (Goshen, NY). A pass across the slot found
Billy MacAusland (Westwood, MA), leading to a grade A scoring chance that was stopped. MacAusland found his rebound and banged it home to tie the game 3-3.
With shades of the 2025 Clark Cup final, the Lumberjacks and Black Hawks needed overtime to find a winner. With a power-play opportunity, the Jacks struck just under 2 minutes into the sudden-death period.
Nick Kosiba (New Boston, MI) slid a pass to
Felix Färhammar (Stockholm, SWE) at the top of the zone. Färhammar moved the puck to Charbonneau on the far circle for a heavy one-time blast. Charbonneau's OT winner is also the first goal of his USHL career.
Samuel Doyon-Cataquiz (Montreal, QC, CAN) (1-0-0-0) earned the win in his first start of the season with 22 saves on 24 shots against. Charles Menard (0-0-1-0) earned the loss in his first action of the season with 21 saves on 24 shots.
Next week, the Lumberjacks welcome the USA Hockey NTDP Under-18 Team to the lakeshore for home opening weekend. Friday at 7 pm the Jacks celebrate the 2026 Eastern Conference Championship with a banner-raising ceremony and magnet schedule giveaway. Saturday brings Flannel Fest. The free-to-attend street party starts at 2 pm on Western Avenue. Puck drop is scheduled for 6 pm inside Trinity Health Arena. Get tickets at muskegonlumberjacks.com or call 231-799-7000.
