MUSKEGON, MI – Friday evening marked the regular-season home opener for the Muskegon Lumberjacks (1-2-0-0, 2 pts.), who kicked off the night celebrating the 2026 Eastern Conference Championship. The USA Hockey NTDP Under-18 Team played spoiler, scoring two back-to-back third-period goals to sink the Jacks 5-3.
A back-and-forth first period saw neither team find the back of the net in the opening frame. It didn't take long for the Jacks to break the ice after coming out of the locker room for the second period, though.
Lars Hutson (North Barrington, IL) got the puck to the net front area by sending it down the near wall of the NTDP zone. The puck ended up in the low slot where
Nick Kosiba (New Boston, MA) picked it up and roofed a shot over the goalie's shoulder for his first goal of the season.
Aiden Janz (Northville, MI) got the secondary assist on the first of two points for him.
Halfway through the frame, the teams traded goals, with three coming in just over minutes of game play. The NTDP scored at the 10:44 mark to tie the game 1-1. Cannon Thibodeau found a loose puck in the low slot and buried it for his first goal of the USHL season. Finn Sears and Rocco Pelosi recorded the assists.
Less than a minute later,
Louis Jonerheim (Lund, SWE) scored his first goal of the season, skating in his season debut after missing the Fall Classic with an injury. Jonerheim carried the puck up the near side of the ice and into the NTDP zone before wiring a shot into the top corner of the net.
Zaac Charbonneau (Gatineau, QC, CAN) and
Felix Färhammar (Stockholm, SWE) each added to their point totals with assists.
Before the period ended, the Under-18 evened the score at 15:20. Brayden Willis led a rush into the Muskegon zone and fed a pass across the slot to Griffin Story for an easy back-door tap-in, tying it at 2-2.
The Lumberjacks opened the scoring in the third period, but the NTDP put the finishing touches on it with a trio of goals to tie the game, take the lead, and extend it. First, Kosiba added his second point of the contest by finding Janz streaking up the ice. The Michigan native ripped a shot into the back of the net for his second goal of the short season.
Just 16 seconds later, Nolan Fitzhenry tied the game back up thanks to a nice assist from Thibodeau. Fitzhenry returned the favor for Sears, who slid a shot along the ice from the top of the slot to the back of the net to make it 4-3 in favor of the visitors. Braden Horton iced the game with an empty-net goal, and the NTDP picked up their first of the campaign, 5-3.
Samuel Doyon-Cataquiz (Montreal, QC, CAN) (1-1-0-0) stopped 21 of the 25 shots he faced. Nate Chizik (1-1-0-0) earned his first win of the season with 28 saves on 31 shots against.
Tomorrow brings the annual Flannel Fest Street Party in downtown Muskegon. The party starts at 2 pm, then the Jacks and Under-18 team close out the two-game weekend series at 6 pm inside Trinity Health Arena.
Flannel Fest is free to attend. For tickets to the game, visit muskegonlumberjacks.com, call 231-799-7000, or visit the box office located inside the VanDyke Mortgage Convention Center.
