USHL Muskegon Lumberjacks

Jacks Jet to Youngstown for Three-Game Weekend Set

Published on March 30, 2022 under United States Hockey League (USHL)
Muskegon Lumberjacks News Release


MUSKEGON, Mich. - The Muskegon Lumberjacks are set to kickstart a nine-game road trip, starting first with a three-in-three series against the Youngstown Phantoms on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, April 1-3. Friday's and Saturday's games will start at 7:05 pm EDT with Sunday's matinee matchup scheduled for 4:05 pm EDT, all from the Covelli Centre in Youngstown, Ohio. This becomes the second trip to the Buckeye State for Muskegon this season, with the last series taking place on Feb. 18-19 and each team earning a weekend series split. Head-to-head, the Lumberjacks are 4-2-1-0 against the Phantoms this season.

Fighting the Phantoms

The Youngstown Phantoms come into this weekend just five points behind the Lumberjacks in the Eastern Conference standings with an overall record of 24-19-5-4, good for fourth place in the standings with 57 points. The Phantoms have leveled off since they were on fire to begin the new year, going 5-4-0-1 in their last 10 contests. Most recently, Youngstown dropped two-of-three in a three-game set against the Chicago Steel (5-to-1 loss) and a pair of games against Team USA U18 (3-to-0 loss and 4-to-3 win). Y-Town exhibits a trio of NHL draft picks, those being Tomas Machu, who was selected by the New York Islanders #221 overall in the 2021 NHL Draft, Stiven Sardarian, a Buffalo Sabres prospect taken #88 overall in the third round of the 2021 NHL Draft, and Shane LaChance, who the Edmonton Oilers drafted #186 overall in the sixth round of the 2021 NHL Draft. Leading the team offensively is Adam Ingram, who currently is number one in goals, assists, and points with a stat line of 23 goals and 28 assists for 51 points. Charlie Lurie, acquired by the Phantoms via trade from the Fargo Force, has 14 goals and 22 assists for 36 points through 51 games. Jaden Grant, the Bowling Green commit, ranks third in points, having scored 16 goals and 19 assists for 35 points. On the backend, Trey Taylor is leaps and bounds ahead of other team defensemen, leading in goals, assists, and points, having potted eight goals and 26 assists for 35 points in 44 games this year. In between the pipes, Kyle Chauvette remains Youngstown's number one goaltender with a record of 14-10-4-2 in 32 games played, a 3.25 GAA, and a .895 save percentage. However, Jacob Fowler is proving to be a reliable goaltender, having put up a 2.00 GAA, a .932 save percentage in 12 games this year, going 7-3-0-1.

About Last Weekend

Muskegon concluded the month of March, and coincidentally a six-game homestand, with a weekend split with the Green Bay Gamblers. After sweeping the Dubuque Fighting Saints a week prior, the Lumberjacks easily glided to a 5-to-2 victory over Green Bay on Friday, March 25. The next night, however, the Gamblers responded with a 7-to-2 win, putting an end to their three-game losing skid. After splitting with Green Bay last weekend, the Jacks still hold a firm grasp on third place in the Eastern Conference standings with an overall record of 28-18-3-3 and 62 points, seven points behind Dubuque (69 points, second place), 12 points behind Chicago (74 points, first place), but five in front of Youngstown (57 points, fourth place) and eight ahead of Madison (54 points, fifth place).

Record Breaker

After netting two assists on Friday, March 25, Lumberjacks defenseman Jacob Guevin now becomes the all-time leader in career assists in franchise history. Guevin (79 assists) surpassed former Lumberjack Daniil Gushchin (77 assists) to become the all-time leader. Already having scored the most points by a defenseman in Lumberjacks history, Guevin adds his name to the Lumberjacks record book for the second time this season.

Good Defense Leads to Good Offense

Almost half of Muskegon's goals scored last weekend came off the sticks of Lumberjacks blueliners last weekend against Green Bay. In all, three of seven goals scored by the Jacks were scored by Nathan McBrayer, Tyler Dunbar, and Noah Ellis. In addition, Jacob Guevin (two assists), Gavin McCarthy (one assist), and Ellis (one assist) each helped on lamplighters throughout the weekend.

Record Tracker

Lumberjacks captain Jack Williams (108 career points) is now fourth all-time in points in Muskegon Lumberjacks history after recently abdicating Mikael Hakkarainen (107 career points) for the fourth all-time. Williams currently sits just behind Collin Adams (112 career points), Matej Paulovic (119 career points), and Daniil Gushchin (147 career points) on the all-time leader list for most points in franchise history. In addition, teammate Quinn Hutson (105 career points) currently sits sixth all-time in points.

Eyes on the Century Men

Five current Lumberjacks have played at least 100 career USHL games, those being captain Jack Williams (158 games), Noah Ellis (146 games), Tyler Dunbar (131 games), Jacob Guevin (109 games), and Jake Braccini (105 games). On the radar for 100 career games are Phil Tresca (96 games), Quinn Hutson (95 games), and Owen Mehlenbacher (93 games), all of whom are due to hit the century mark this season. In addition to games played, Quinn Hutson (105 points) and Jack Williams (108 points) became the seventh and eighth players in franchise history, respectively, to score at least 100 career points. Jacob Guevin (91 career points) would need only nine more points to become the third Lumberjack this season to hit triple digits, and the ninth player in franchise history to do so.

Upcoming Theme Nights - Fan Appreciation Night

On Saturday, April 23, the Jacks complete their home-and-home series with the Chicago Steel to close out the 2021-22 regular season on Fan Appreciation Night! The Lumberjacks want to thank the best fans in the USHL and show gratitude for their continued support. Come out and enjoy special deals and giveaways just for loyal followers! Detroit Pistons Hall of Famer Ben Wallace will be in the house! This will be the last time to see Lumberjacks hockey in action before the Clark Cup Playoffs. For more information, call the Muskegon Lumberjacks Business office at (231)-799-7000 or email [email protected].

Over the Airwaves

For live video streams, all Muskegon Lumberjacks games will be broadcast on HockeyTV (Video). Additionally, all home games and select away games will be streamed on Mixlr (Audio) for free.

NHL Central Scouting Rankings

On Wednesday, Jan. 12, National Hockey League (NHL) Central Scouting released their mid-season rankings for the upcoming 2022 NHL Entry Draft. In all, four current and three future Jacks made the list. Current Lumberjacks include defensemen Tyler Dunbar (No. 105), Jacob Guevin (No. 176), Jeremiah Slavin (No.194), and goaltender Platon Zadorozhnyy (No. 24). In addition, three affiliates were named to the watch list, those being George Fegaras (No. 91), Michael Callow (No. 162), and Matthew Morden (No. 223). The 2022 NHL Draft is scheduled from July 7-8, 2022, and will be hosted by the Montreal Canadiens at Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec.

Upcoming Games

Fri. April 1 | 7:05 pm EDT | at Youngstown Phantoms

Sat. April 2 | 7:05 pm EDT | at Youngstown Phantoms

Sun. April 3 | 4:05 pm EDT | at Youngstown Phantoms

Fri. April 8 | 8:05 pm EDT | at Dubuque Fighting Saints

Sat. April 9 | 8:05 pm EDT | at Cedar Rapids RoughRiders

Sun. April 10 | 4:05 pm EDT | at Green Bay Gamblers

Fri. April 15 | 7:05 pm EDT | at Team USA U17

Sat. April 16 | 7:05 pm EDT | at Team USA U17

Fri. April 22 | 8:05 pm EDT | at Chicago Steel

Sat. April 23 | 7:00 pm EDT | vs. Chicago Steel | Fan Appreciation Night

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United States Hockey League Stories from March 30, 2022


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