NFL, MLB, NHL, NBA, CFL stats



Muskegon Lumberjacks

Lumberjacks Furious Third Period Rally Falls Short in Lincoln

October 11, 2014 - United States Hockey League (USHL)
Muskegon Lumberjacks News Release


LINCOLN, Nebraska (October 11th) - To conclude the two-game weekend and regular season series, the Muskegon Lumberjacks and Lincoln Stars clashed one last time at the Lincoln Ice Box that saw the visitors dominate all but one statistical category as the host Stars used a three-goal second period and a solid goaltending effort in the third period to push their way to 4-3 victory tonight in front of the home faithful.

The first period saw Muskegon dominate the pace of play outshooting Lincoln by a 13-4 margin, but the Stars (2-3-0, 4 points) were able to notch the game's first goal of the evening with 5:12 left after taking advantage of their first power play opportunity with Michael Gillespie blasting a shot from the right faceoff circle top shelf over the glove of Michael Latorella (1-1-0) for his second goal of the season that was aided by Ludvig Hoff.

Right out of the gate in the second period, Lincoln doubled their lead to 2-0 just 22 seconds in as Cam Lee rifled his third goal of the season past Latorella from the left faceoff circle.

Shortly after, the Lumberjacks (4-3-0, 8 points) got the offense going and cut the deficit to 2-1 at the 3:11 mark as Griffen Molino centered the puck in the low slot that found the skate of Mason Jobst, and the Ohio State commit muscled his second goal of the year just past the goal line that was also assisted by Jack Rowe.

A few minutes later at the 7:28 mark, the wild second period continued with the Stars getting their two-goal lead back at 3-1 with a breakaway marker from Patrick Polino for his first of the year that was set up by Blake Christensen and Grant Jozefek.

Muskegon continued to battle back into the latter stages of the middle frame making it a one goal spread again this time at 3-2 with 3:40 to go courtesy of Cooper Marody winning a faceoff in the offensive zone and Matheson Iacopelli ripping a wrist shot in the high slot past the glove of Cam Hackett (1-2-0) for his fifth goal of the season via a four-on-four tally.

Just over a minute later with 2:26 left in the second period, the wild period ended with the Stars regaining their two-goal lead back for the third time on the night at 4-2 with a four-on-four tally of their own from Gillespie for his second of the night and third of the season that was helped by Polino.

Lincoln took their two-goal lead into the final 20 minutes of regulation after outshooting Muskegon by a slim 11-10 margin during the middle stanza.

The third period belonged to the Lumberjacks in throwing everything but the kitchen sink at Hackett and initially having it pay off in making it a 4-3 game with 8:37 left using the power play to their advantage as Iacopelli ripped another wrist shot from the high slot short side and under the crossbar for his second of the game and sixth of the season that was aided by Rowe and Keefer.

The shots on goal continued to accumulate for Muskegon reaching 20 for the period and 43 for the game, but they were unable to record the equalizer in the end even after pulling Latorella for the extra attacker with 1:07 left in regulation. The Lumberjacks heavily outshot the Stars, 43-19.

Cam Hackett picked up his first season of the season between the pipes making 40 saves, while Michael Latorella took the tough-luck road loss with 15 saves of his own. Michael Gillespie led the offensive push for Lincoln with his pair of goals along with Patrick Polino contributing with a goal plus one assist. Matheson Iacopelli's two goals led the offense for Muskegon along with Mason Jobst (one goal, one assist) and Jack Rowe (two assists) chipping in with a pair of points apiece. Muskegon finishes the regular season series splitting the two games against Lincoln.

The Lumberjacks return home to the L.C. Walker Arena begin a four-game homestand beginning next Saturday, October 18th, against the Chicago Steel at 7:15 pm. To purchase tickets and take advantage of our discounted advance game day prices, fans can stop by the L.C. Walker Arena Box Office during the normal business hours of 10:00 am - 6:00 pm on Monday - Friday or call (231) 724-5225.

The Lumberjacks are back on the radio waves as Nash Icon 92.5 FM is the team's flagship provider for the 2014-15 season. Tune in as the "Voice of the Lumberjacks" Bryan Fongers delivers the call beginning 15 minutes prior to the opening puck drop. All games can also be listened and watched live online at www.fasthockey.com.

Check out the Muskegon Lumberjacks Statistics

• Discuss this story on the United States Hockey League message board...

United States Hockey League Stories from October 11, 2014


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central