USHL Muskegon Lumberjacks

Jacob Gwillim Stops 27 in First USHL Start as Lumberjacks Fall at Home to Phantoms

Published on November 28, 2014 under United States Hockey League (USHL)
Muskegon Lumberjacks News Release


MUSKEGON, Michigan (November 28th) - After coming off a big road victory in Dubuque, Iowa against the Fighting Saints on Wednesday, the Muskegon Lumberjacks returned to the L.C. Walker Arena following the Thanksgiving holiday to begin a home-and-home weekend series with the Youngstown Phantoms tonight. However, the result did not go as planned as the visiting Phantoms totaled half of their goals on the man advantage and cruised to an 8-0 shutout victory to snap the Lumberjacks' three-game overall and home winning streaks.

In a first period that saw 28 combined penalty minutes and only 12 shots on goal between the two teams, the Phantoms (10-6-2, 22 points) tallied the period's lone goal with 5:09 left taking advantage of their second power play opportunity of the night. Max Letunov let a shot from the high slot go and found its way under the right arm of Jacob Gwillim (0-1-0) for his ninth tally of the season to give the Phantoms a 1-0 lead that was set up by Kyle Connor and Kiefer Sherwood.

Youngstown outshot Muskegon during the first 20 minutes of regulation by a 10-2 margin while receiving the lone pair of power play opportunities in the period.

In the second period, Youngstown continued to attack scoring four times during the middle stanza to increase their lead to 5-0 going into the third and final frame. Beginning at the 5:40 mark, former Lumberjack Ryan Lomberg snapped a wrist shot from the right faceoff circle past Gwillim for his team-leading 11th of the season to make it 2-0 that was aided by Connor.

At the 13:11 mark, Connor slipped a one-timer in the low slot through Gwillim's five-hole to make it a 3-0 spread that was set up by Matt Alvaro. Just over four minutes later at the 17:30 mark, Taylor Best roofed a power play tally off a loose rebound to Gwillim's left for his fourth marker of the season to give the Phantoms a 4-0 lead that was helped by Lomberg and Bryan Lemos. To conclude the offensive flurry in the second, Lemos potted his fourth of the season through Gwillim's wickets to make it a five-goal lead with 29 seconds left. Vas Kolias and Alvaro assisted on the tally.

Muskegon outshot Youngstown in the second period by a 15-7 margin, and the shots on goal were back even at 17-17 going into the third period.

Just 49 seconds into the final period of regulation, Letunov tallied his second power play goal of the night tapping a loose rebound in to Gwillim's right for his tenth of the year that was assisted by Connor and Sherwood to make it a 6-0 Youngstown lead.

At the 5:11 mark, Trey Bradley slid his first of the season past Gwillim to make it a touchdown lead of 7-0 that was helped by Lemos and Kolias. To cap off the night for the Phantoms, James Winkler created a wrap-around attempt into his fourth marker of the season burying the puck into the open net to make it an 8-0 game.

The Lumberjacks (13-6-1, 27 points) tried to break the shutout late but were unable to get any of their 13 shots during the third past starter Chris Birdsall (4-1-2), who picked up the shutout stopping all 30 shots that came his way on the evening. Youngstown outshot Muskegon for the night, 35-30.

Jacob Gwillim takes the tough home loss in his first USHL start between the pipes stopping 27 of 35 shots that came his way. Youngstown was led offensively by Kyle Connor with a goal plus three assists followed by Bryan Lemos with a goal plus two helpers. Four other Phantoms chipped in offensively with a pair of points apiece. Matheson Iacopelli led the Lumberjacks in shots on goal with four. Muskegon suffers their second shutout loss of the season while falling to 1-1-0 against Youngstown with four regular season meetings left.

The Lumberjacks and Phantoms conclude their home-and-home weekend series with a tilt at the Covelli Centre in Youngstown, Ohio tomorrow night beginning at 7:05 pm.

Next weekend, Muskegon returns to the L.C. Walker Arena for a pair of contests against the USNTDP Under-17 Team on Friday, December 5th and Saturday, December 6th at 7:15 pm, respectively, to begin a season-long six-game homestand.

Friday's game signals another "Jacks Win You Win" courtesy of Sport Clips. If the Lumberjacks defeat the Under-17's, every fan that is in attendance receives a $5 Sport Clips gift card. Saturday's game is the Annual Teddy Bear Toss game, where fans are encouraged to bring a new or gently used stuffed animal to throw on to the ice when the Lumberjacks score their first goal of the game. Children ages 12 and under that bring a stuffed animal will receive a free ticket to the game.

To purchase tickets to any upcoming Lumberjacks home game and take advantage of our discounted advance game day prices, fans can stop by the L.C. Walker Arena Box Office during the normal business hours of 10:00 am - 6:00 pm on Monday - Friday or call (231) 724-5225.

The Lumberjacks are back on the radio waves as Nash Icon 92.5 FM is the team's flagship provider for the 2014-15 season. Tune in as the "Voice of the Lumberjacks" Bryan Fongers delivers the call beginning 15 minutes prior to the opening puck drop. All games can also be listened and watched live online at www.fasthockey.com.

Check out the Muskegon Lumberjacks Statistics

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United States Hockey League Stories from November 28, 2014


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