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USHL Muskegon Lumberjacks

Jacks Head West to Dubuque for Series against Fighting Saints

January 2, 2024 - United States Hockey League (USHL)
Muskegon Lumberjacks News Release


MUSKEGON, MI - Later this week the Muskegon Lumberjacks will hit the road for the first and only trip to Dubuque this season. Already with one game against the Fighting Saints both teams are playing really strong games with Dubuque atop the USHL's Eastern Conference, and Muskegon winners in 7 of their last 10 contests.

The Matchup

For the first time this season the Muskegon Lumberjacks will head to ImOn Arena in Dubuque, IA for a weekend series against the Fighting Saints. The trip isn't the first matchup of the season between the two teams though. Back in September the Jacks and Saints closed out the Fall Classic with a commanding Saints win 8-3 on the final day.

The newly named captain of the Lumberjacks Cody Croal (North Branch, MN) opened the scoring in the first period, and Justin Solovey (Holmdel, NJ) added a goal in the opening frame too, but four goals in the first period for the Saints followed by three more in the second, and an eighth in the third sunk the Jacks.

Entering week 14 of the USHL season Dubuque has players in the top five of goals, assists, and points while sporting the second best record in the USHL with 42 points in the standings. Not far behind are the Lumberjacks in 4th place of the Eastern Conference with 36 and a game in hand on the Saints.

About Last Weekend

Entering the second half the Lumberjacks were winners in their last three games, but looking forward to a really tough week with a game against the NTDP Under-18 team, and a weekend series against the Youngstown Phantoms.

Thursday afternoon in Plymouth things just didn't go as planned for the Jacks. The offense struggled in the offensive zone the few times they could leave their own end, and the USA offense capitalized on all of the chances they got.

Things were much different back home against the Phantoms. On Friday Muskegon opened the scoring just 47 seconds into the game thanks to Joe Connor (Amherst, NH) who finished with two points on a goal and assist. Despite losing a three goal lead the Jacks scored three straight in the third period to pick up an 8-5 win. Croal was joined by Matvei Gridin (Kurgan, RUS.) as three point scorers. Both players scored and added a pair of assists in the win.

Saturday brought a very close game that needed overtime to find a winner. Tied 1-1at the end of the first period the Jacks took a 3-2 lead into the third period where Youngstown tied the game 5-5. Sacha Boisvert (Trois-Rivieres, QC, CAN) had three points on two goals and an assist, but handed the keys over to Ryan Koering (Eden Prairie, MN) in overtime to win the game for Muskegon. Koering found the back of the net with just over one minute remaining in OT for his first career USHL goal.

The Fighting Saints had almost the exact opposite weekend than the Lumberjacks. Winners on Friday night 5-3 in Des Moines over the Buccaneers they then took part in a home and home series against the Waterloo Black Hawks. The first game was a goaltending battle with a scoreless game all the way to a shootout where the Hawks picked up a 1-0 SO win. Sunday evening in Waterloo the Hawks offense woke up, but the same wasn't true for the Fighting Saints who fell 6-2.

2024 Chipotle All-American Game

For the first time ever the Chipotle All-American Game will feature international players. The two international players selected for the event were Sacha Boisvert and Matvei Gridin. The Lumberjacks are also sending Joe Connor to the event.

The All-American game is an event that features the top NHL draft players from the USHL and US National Team Development Program. 45 players from the NTDP and 12 of the other 15 USHL teams will skate at USA Hockey Arena on January 15th in front of scouts from all 32 NHL organizations and millions of viewers on NHL Network. Only the Lumberjacks and Youngstown Phantoms are sending three players to the event. The other ten teams to send players have either one or two players at the event.

The three players for Muskegon all come from different backgrounds. Boisvert, a native of Quebec has been a top prospect for the 2024 NHL Draft for some time now. A tender signing of the Jacks out of Mount Saint Charles Boisvert has had his sights set on not just the NHL, but college hockey too with his plan to attend the University of North Dakota next fall.

Gridin, a 2006 birth year from Russia was a Phase I draft pick of the Lumberjacks and a mid level prospect until this season when he exploded on the offensive end. Currently the Lumberjacks leading point scorer Gridin is third in the USHL.

Connor was a late round Phase I selection for the Lumberjacks and passed on in the 2023 NHL Draft. The New Hampshire native is making teams regret not selecting him as he continues to produce at over a point per game rate for Muskegon.

Player Spotlight: Miles Gust

Some players in the USHL travel as far as the other side of the world to play in the Nation's premier Junior Hockey League. For Lumberjacks defenseman Miles Gust, he just needed a trip around Lake Michigan from Chicago to Muskegon. Gust got a late start to his hockey career, starting organized hockey at 10 years old and then starting with the Chicago Mission a few years later. "I can't say enough good things about that organization." said Gust.

Following his u18 year in Chicago Gust moved north of the border to start his Junior Hockey career in the SJHL with the LaRonge Ice Wolves. "It was definitely an adjustment. Coming from a city of 4 million people to a town with 2 thousand" he said. "It's definitely a hockey town though, and a lot of fun."

Now in Muskegon and the USHL it's the development that Gust says sets the USHL apart "I'm really thankful for the staff for bringing me in. The amount of development and how much they care for us is the biggest thing for me." Gust continued "If you want to play college and pro hockey this is the place to be."

Over the Airwaves

Catch the action all season long with the USHL's official video streaming partner FloHockey, and with the free radio stream on the Lumberjacks Hockey Network on Mixlr.

New this season Jacks cans can tune into the Lumberjacks Hockey Network Pregame Show on Facebook Live 30 minutes prior to every Lumberjacks game this year.

Upcoming Games

Fri. January 5 | 7:05 pm CST | at Dubuque Fighting Saints

Sat. January 6 | 7:05 pm CST | at Dubuque Fighting Saints

Fri. January 12 | 7:00 pm EST | vs Fargo Force

Sat. January 13 | 7:00 pm EST | vs Fargo Force

Check out the Muskegon Lumberjacks Statistics



United States Hockey League Stories from January 2, 2024


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