USHL Muskegon Lumberjacks

Lumberjacks Log: Week 11

Published on December 15, 2011 under United States Hockey League (USHL)
Muskegon Lumberjacks News Release


MUSKEGON, Mich. (December 14, 2011) - Entering the final weekend before the USHL's Christmas break, the Muskegon Lumberjacks have played the fewest games in the league.

But despite having only 19 matches in the hopper, the time is quickly arriving for Muskegon to make its move back into playoff position. Starting this Saturday, the Jacks (8-11-0, 16 points) will play 23 of their next 24 - including the next six in a row - against Eastern Conference opponents.

The Jacks have a winning record (3-2-0) against teams from the Western Conference, even after falling 7-3 to first-place Omaha last Saturday at L.C. Walker Arena. Muskegon held a 2-0 lead early in the second period, but a four-goal burst from the Lancers turned the fortunes in favor of the visitors before the end of the frame.

"We're a young team so our confidence tends to waver during the course of a game," said Lumberjacks Assistant Coach Steve Palmer. "We're working at keeping our mentality the same no matter what happens so we don't have so many highs and lows."

An opportunity to snap out of a current 1-5-0 slide is imminent, as the Lumberjacks hit the road for the only time in December to test themselves against the U.S. National Under-18 Team in Ann Arbor, Mich. The Saturday night collision is the first of eight between Muskegon and the NTDP (8-9-3, 19 points) this season.

The Lumberjacks swept the Stars & Stripes in a best-of-three first-round series in last year's Clark Cup Playoffs, winning both games at the Ice Cube, also the site for Saturday's game. With the NTDP three points ahead of them for sixth place, the Jacks hope those memories provide an intangible boost to their efforts this season.

A Sunday evening home tilt with Indiana wraps up the weekend and sends Muskegon into a 10-day gap between games. The Jacks pushed past the Ice (13-7-2, 28 points) by the entertaining final score of 5-4 Nov. 12 in Indianapolis to grab an early edge in the eight-game season series.

The Lumberjacks face off with the National Team at 7 p.m. Saturday and return to Muskegon for a 5:15 p.m. confrontation with Indiana. As always, the Meijer Pregame Show will start approximately 30 minutes prior to game time on the radio home of your Lumberjacks, 92.5 The Outlaw.

JACKS FACTS

* Travis Belohrad tied for the team lead with his eighth goal Saturday against Omaha; the second-year Lumberjack now has a five-game point streak, matching Jordan Masters for the longest such run this season. Using hockey-reference.com's Goals Created, Belohrad has been responsible for 6.9 of Muskegon's 52 goals on the season, giving him a team-best 13 percent share of the Jacks' total offensive production. * The Lumberjacks' last six games mirror their first six, in which they also went 1-5-0 and struggled to keep the puck out of their net. In the season-opening stretch, Muskegon allowed 34 goals, compared to 27 against in the last half dozen. In the last three games, starting with John Keeney's 44-save shutout Dec. 2 vs. Youngstown, Jacks' opponents have averaged 39.7 shots per outing. * Several Lumberjacks have achieved multiple milestones during the last two weeks. In the last three games, forwards Mike McNicholas, Lance Fredrickson, Tyler Murray and defenseman Alex Smith have all lit the lamp for the first time in their USHL careers. All but McNicholas, who played midget major hockey in the Detroit area, are Michigan born and raised.

SCOUTING REPORT: NATIONAL NOTES

* The U.S. National Team Development Program is made up of two squads, the Under-17s and the Under-18s. The older group, which the Jacks will face Saturday, improved their USHL record to 4-3-1 with a 2-0-1 trip to the Western Conference last weekend. Also this fall, the U-18s won the Four Nations Cup in Switzerland and have gone 4-6-0 against an assortment of Division I and III NCAA teams. * Italian-born Thomas DiPauli paces the way for the U-18s in USHL play, as the Notre Dame recruit has two goals and four assists in eight games played. His older brother Theo plays for the Chicago Steel. With all contests factored in (USHL, NCAA, IIHF), Stefan Matteau, son of 13-year NHL veteran Stephane, has a team-best 19 points (9 G); Californian Nicolas Kerdiles leads in goals with 10. * The Nationals will be missing two key cogs on their blueline, as top 2012 NHL Draft prospects Jacob Trouba and Seth Jones are away at USA Hockey's World Junior Championship camp. The son of longtime NBA forward and New Jersey Nets assistant coach Ron "Popeye" Jones leads NTDP D-men with 12 points in 26 games; Michigan native Trouba is a plus-3 in USHL play and has 10 points overall.

ICEMEN COMETH

* The Ice jumped to within one point of the second-place Dubuque Fighting Saints with a two-game sweep of the defending USHL champs last weekend at home. The pair of victories wrapped up Indiana's seven-game stand at Pepsi Coliseum in which they went 4-3-0; the Ice will now skate in four in a row away from home. * Two of the USHL's top four scorers skate on the Ice's top forward line. 20-year-old Russian Daniil Tarasov is second in the league with 30 points and now has 105 points in 81 league matches. Jacob Fallon (26 points) chipped in four assists last weekend to give him 18, a total bettered only by Omaha's Jimmy Murray (22). * Goaltender Jon Gilles was the tough-luck loser Nov. 12 as he surrendered the game-winning goal to Muskegon's Joe Cox soon after entering in relief of Dalton Izyk, who allowed four goals on 29 shots. Nonetheless, the 6-foot-5 Gillies is second in the USHL in save percentage (.922) and won Reebok Goaltender of the Week after stopping 67 of 70 Dubuque shots last weekend. UPCOMING PROMOTIONS Sunday, December 18 vs. INDIANA at 5:15 p.m. - Coats for Kids / 107 MUS joins the Jacks in helping local folks keep warm this winter. Receive a free children's game voucher with a donation. Wednesday, December 28 vs. INDIANA at 7:15 p.m. - Carload Night / A Muskegon tradition returns as all vehicles will be charged a flat entry fee of $40 Saturday, January 7 vs. CHICAGO at 7:15 p.m. - Stanley Cup & NASCAR Night / Hockey's most legendary prize will be in the house, plus enter to win a trip to the Daytona 500!

FOLLOW THE JACKS ALL SEASON

92.5 FM The Outlaw is the exclusive radio home of your Muskegon Lumberjacks! Listen over the air or check out the action streaming online at 925fmtheoutlaw.com as Voice of the Jacks Matt Gajtka has the play-by-play. The USHL is also partnering with FastHockey.com to provide video coverage of all league games this season; go to ushl.fasthockey.com to sign up and watch!

TALKIN' LUMBERJACKS HOCKEY

JackSixty presented by Cinema Carousel is a weekly hour-long talk show devoted to your Muskegon Lumberjacks every Tuesday night from 6-7 p.m. at Hennessy's Irish Pub & Restaurant. Located at the corner of Jefferson and Clay Streets in the heart of Muskegon, Hennessy's plays host as Gajtka talks hockey with head coach Kevin Patrick, various players and other featured guests on 98.3 FM WLCS!

THE SOCIAL NETWORKS Never go hungry for Jacks news: "Like" the Muskegon Lumberjacks on Facebook and follow "@MuskegonJacks" on Twitter to stay plugged into the Jacks 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Also, find the Jacks' exclusive YouTube channel at youtube.com/MuskegonJacks!

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United States Hockey League Stories from December 15, 2011


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