First Period Deficit Proves Costly. Jacks Fall 6-2 in Lincoln
January 17, 2025 - United States Hockey League (USHL)
Muskegon Lumberjacks News Release
LINCOLN, NE - It's been a while since the Muskegon Lumberjacks (20-9-2-4, 46 pts.) traveled to the Ice Box to take on the Lincoln Stars (22-11-1-0, 45 pts.), and the reception was not a warm one when the Jacks returned to the old rodeo barn. Three goals in the first period for the Stars set the tone for what ended up a rough night for the Lumberjacks falling 6-2.
Scoring opened just 1:17 into the contest thanks to a goal from Jack Pechar. Layne Loomer got the puck deep into the Lumberjacks zone and behind the net where Matt Maltais popped a pass from below the goal line to Pechar in the low slot. As fast as the puck was on his stick it was off and on it's way to the back of the net to make the score 1-0.
A few moments later Lincoln struck again. This time Alex Pelletier finished off a play started by Daniel Shlaine and former Lumberjack Hunter Anderson. His 9th goal of the season gave Lincoln a 2-0 lead 5:13 into the game.
Bruno Idzan capped off the strong opening period for the Stars with a goal at the 14:57 mark of the frame. Kade Kohanski and Drew DellaSalla picked up the assists helping Lincoln to a 3-0 lead on the scoreboard and 24-8 lead on the score sheet heading into the intermission.
The tide changed in the second period though. The lumberjacks outshot the Stars 10-8 in the second, and 12-7 in the third, but couldn't solve the hot netminder at the other end of the ice. Strong physical play from Muskegon highlighted by a massive body check and fight from David Klee (Castle Rock, CO) helped the Jacks take control of the momentum for the remaining two periods.
The only goal of the second period though belonged to Lincoln. Jacob Rombach, a 6'6 defenseman found himself in the low slot of the Lumberjacks zone and redirected a shot to the back of the net. Shlaine took the initial shot from the blue line for his second assist of the game while Etienne Lessard picked up the secondary.
Muskegon struck first in the third period to start mounting a comeback effort. Jake Toll (Rosemount, MN) sent the puck down the far side wall to Tynan Lawrence (Fredericton, NB, CAN) who was standing on the hash mark. A nice move around a Lincoln defender allowed Lawrence to move towards the middle of the slot with the puck on his forehand. With a great angle to shoot at, and no defenders within arms reach Lawrence ripped a shot to the back the net to get the Jacks on the board 1:38 into the frame.
Lincoln responded with a goal of the their own at the 4:57 mark and again it was Pechar who scored. While on their fourth power play of the game the Lincoln unit moved the puck around the zone until it finally found the stick of Pechar on the near side circle. A wicked wrister made it's way into the top far corner of the goal.
As time dwindled away the effort from the Lumberjacks did not and they scored again at the 14:10 mark to bring the score back to within three. Xavier Veilleux (L'Ancienne-Lorrette, QC, CAN) carried the puck on a trip around the offensive zone and ended up on the far side half wall. Veilleux slid a pass across the slot to Matthew Van Blaricom (Southey, SK, CAN) for a perfect one-timer goal.
From then on the Jacks pulled their goalie looking to capitalize with the extra attacker. While the Jacks dictated play in the Lincoln end for an extended period Idzan found a way to get the puck down the ice and into the empty net to put an end to the comeback effort with 2:21 to play.
Stephen Peck (New York, NY) (9-5-1-3) earned the loss on his record, but played well to keep the Jacks in the game through to the very end with 33 saves on 38 shots against. Yan Shostak (13-9-0-0) earned the win with 28 saves on 30 shots sent his way.
The teams close out the two game series tomorrow, Saturday night at 7:05 pm EST at the Ice Box in Lincoln, NE. Tune in to the visiting broadcast on FloHockey or catch the game for free on the Lumberjacks Hockey Network Presented by Lakeside Surfaces.
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United States Hockey League Stories from January 17, 2025
- First Period Deficit Proves Costly. Jacks Fall 6-2 in Lincoln - Muskegon Lumberjacks
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- Another First Period Frenzy Leads Stars Past Lumberjacks - Lincoln Stars
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