USHL Muskegon Lumberjacks

Jacks come up short in 5-4 loss to Indiana

Published on January 25, 2011 under United States Hockey League (USHL)
Muskegon Lumberjacks News Release


Indianapolis, Ind - The Muskegon Lumberjacks rallied from two separate deficits, but fell 5-4 in overtime to the Indiana Ice at the Indy Pepsi Coliseum on Tuesday night.

An overtime four-on-three power play allowed the Ice to snare the victory. Nick Mattson's rifled shot beat a resilient Joel Vienneau with 1:18 left in the five-minute overtime period to settle a see-saw game that was competitive from wire to wire.

Vienneau saved 49 of the 54 shots he faced over the course of the game, including all 15 the Ice put on him in the second period.

Indiana seized the early advantage with a two-goal first period that forced the Lumberjacks into a tight corner. Adam Erne (7:26) and Christian Hilbritch (18:26) struck for an Ice squad that has now won 17 of their last 19 contests.

The second frame belonged to Muskegon (14-14-7, 35 points), as the Jacks came out swinging and scoring.

Christian Kraus landed the first blow for the Lumberjacks at 7:28 of the middle frame. The Bratislava, Slovakia, native got off to the perfect start to his USHL career scoring a goal and later recording an assist.

"It was great to see a new player come in, have success right away and build his confidence," Lumberjacks Head Coach Kevin Patrick said. "He also built a lot of trust with his teammates."

Fifty-eight seconds later, Isaac Kohls slipped into the offensive zone and wristed the puck home from the high slot, picking up his eighth goal of the campaign as he hauled the Lumberjacks even at 2-2.

The Jacks gained their only lead of the game when Charlie Taft netted off a feed from Kohls with 3:20 left to play in the second. Taft has 10 goals, and is the fourth Jack to crack double-digits in scoring this season.

But a goal by Indiana's Peter Schneider just 1:11 into the third leveled the score for the second time as both teams battled for crucial momentum.

The Ice capitalized on that momentum to regain the lead 4-3 when David Johnstone struck on the power play.

Muskegon would answer the bell yet again. Chris Lochner redirected a puck put toward the net by Kraus to beat Casey DeSmith and tie the game with 5:54 left in regulation. Micki Mihailovich picked up the secondary assist.

The Lumberjacks return to the L. C. Walker Arena this Saturday to finish off a home-and-home series with the Youngstown Phantoms, who they will face on Friday night at the Covelli Centre. Catch all Lumberjacks action locally by tuning into 92.5 FM the Outlaw. For tickets contact the L. C. Walker Arena box office at (231) 726-2400.

Check out the Muskegon Lumberjacks Statistics

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United States Hockey League Stories from January 25, 2011


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