USHL Muskegon Lumberjacks

Jacks Drop Back-And-Forth Contest 5-3 In Green Bay

Published on January 31, 2025 under United States Hockey League (USHL)
Muskegon Lumberjacks News Release


GREEN BAY, WI - Maybe the toughest place to play in the regular season for the Muskegon Lumberjacks (22-11-2-4, 50 pts.) is the Resch Center in Green Bay, WI home of the Gamblers (21-17-1-0, 43 pts.). Despite playing a strong game the Jacks fell to the Gamblers 5-3 after a lopsided second period.

One goal came in the first period, and it came at the 6:51 mark for the Lumberjacks. David Deputy (Gurnee, IL) sent the puck up the near side of the neutral zone to Cameron Aucoin (Hinsdale, IL) at the blue line. Aucoin walked towards the middle and fired a shot towards the net that was redirected off the stick of Ivan Ryabkin (Balakovo, RUS) and into the back of the net.

The middle frame was not kind to the Lumberjacks. A trio of goals from the Gamblers helped them tie the game and take a 2-goal lead halfway through the contest. The first two goals came from Zach Wooten. First, just 1:40 into the frame as he cut towards the net the puck trickled off his stick and into the net. Then, at the 8:58 mark Wooten redirected a shot from William Samuelsson to the back of the cage to take a 2-1 lead.

A power play goal followed at 12:57. :30 seconds into the advantage Vasily Zelenov found a loose puck on the near side of the crease and deposited it extending the Green Bay lead to 3-1.

Before the end of the period the Jacks struck for a power play goal of their own to bring the score back to within one. Ryabkin fired a shot from the top of the blue line that rang off the far side post and back up to Xavier Veilleux (L'Ancienne-Lorrette, QC, CAN) sending it back to Ryabkin on the near side. Ryabkin gave a pass across the zone to Deputy and as the puck moved up and to the near side for Ryabkin again rather than firing a shot he watched as the goalie and defense slod out to take away the lane allowing for an easy pass to David Klee (Castle Rock, CO) right on the door step for a tap-in goal.

Aidan Park opened the scoring for the Gamblers in the third period by tapping in a loose puck at the top of the crease at the 10:47 mark. The goal brought the score to 4-2 and made the Muskegon comeback effort a bit harder to achieve.

The comeback effort included a short handed goal from Tynan Lawrence (Fredericton, NB, CAN) with just over five minutes left in regulation. Chase Stefanek (Yorba Linda, CA) forced the puck out of the Jacks zone allowing Lawrence to battle for the puck in the neutral zone. After winning possession Lawrence made his way into the Green Bay end on a breakaway and fired a shot past the goalie to bring it back to a one goal deficit.

In the final seconds of the game Wooten capitalized on the empty net opportunity to pick up the hat trick and give the Gamblers the eventual final score of 5-3.

Shikhabutdin Gadzhiev (Makhachkala, RUS) (13-6-1-0) earned the loss on his record with 21 saves on 25 shots against. Gavin Moffat (19-14-0-0) stopped 29 of the Lumberjacks 32 shots enroute to his USHL leading 19th win of the season.

The teams continue the three game weekend series tomorrow night. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. at the Resch Center in Green Bay. For broadcast and more information visit muskegonlumberjacks.com.

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United States Hockey League Stories from January 31, 2025


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