MUSKEGON, MI – After a tough loss on Friday night, the Muskegon Lumberjacks (2-2-0-0, 4 pts.) Head Coach
Colten St. Clair challenged his team before Saturday's game against the USA Hockey NTDP Under-18 Team (1-3-0-0, 2 pts.), and they responded.
Zaac Charbonneau (Gatineau, QC, CAN) scored three points on one end of the ice, and Oscar Westman (Stockholm, SWE) made 27 saves on the other, helping the Jacks win 6-1.
Charbonneau's first goal came 10:23 into the game on a quick breakout started by
Teddy Lechner (Bloomington, MN). While falling to the ice after being tripped by an opposing player, Lechner tapped the puck to
Louis Jonerheim (Lund, SWE), who left the zone and fired a pass to the far side for Charbonneau. The Quebec native lowered his shoulder and forced his way behind the defense before sliding the puck between the goalie's legs for his second goal of the season.
Just under four minutes later, the Jacks made it 2-0.
Nick Kosiba (New Boston, MI) led a rush into the offensive zone on the far side of the ice. Kosiba spun around and curled up the boards, firing a pass across the slot.
Will Distad (White Bear Lake, MN) caught the pass and continued the puck to
Aiden Janz (Northville, MI) on the near side. Janz fired a shot on goal that was nearly stopped, but on its way through the crease, it was tapped to the back of the net by
Billy MacAusland (Westwood, MA).
The Lumberjacks scored two more goals in the second period. Both were largely due to a strong play from Charbonneau. The first goal came 3:03 into the frame when
Lars Hutson (North Barrington, IL) made an elite defensive play in his own zone. Hutson moved the puck up the near wall to Charbonneau, who found himself on a 1-on-1 rush into the offensive end. Protecting the puck, Charbonneau pulled it toward him with a toe drag, then held it on his backhand before roofing a shot into the top corner of the net.
Then, while on a McKenzie Price Power Play, Huston and Charbonneau worked together to generate a scoring chance for
Felix Färhammar (Stockholm, SWE). Huston kept the puck in the offensive zone, giving Charbonneau possession in the middle of the slot. In a play similar to last week's overtime winner over Waterloo, Charbonneau slid a pass to the far side of the ice for Färhammar to one-time into the back of the net.
Just like the previous two frames, the Jacks scored a pair of goals in the third period to blow the game open. Kosiba scored the first goal just 1:52 into the period, assisted by
Maxim Šimko (Poprad, SVK) and MacAusland. At the 6:12 mark,
Jake Tavares (Belmont, MA) finished off a play for his first goal of the season.
Nolan Fitzhenry got the NTDP on the board late in regulation with a power-play goal, but the score was too steep for the Under-18 team to overcome.
Westman (1-1-0-0) made 27 saves on 28 shots to earn his first USHL win. Eli Winters (0-2-0-0) faced 46 shots and stopped 40 in the loss.
Next week, the Jacks welcome the Madison Capitols to Trinity Health Arena for a two-game weekend series on the Lakeshore. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 pm on Friday and 6 pm on Saturday. Get your tickets at muskegonlumberjacks.com or call 231-799-7000.
