Muskegon Suffers First Overtime Loss, Falls to Omaha 1-0
December 15, 2018 - United States Hockey League (USHL)
Muskegon Lumberjacks News Release
OMAHA, NE - Omaha couldn't solve Muskegon Lumberjacks goalie Brandon Bussi in 120 straight regulation minutes this weekend.
But all the Lancers needed was 16 seconds of overtime play to beat Bussi and upset the Lumberjacks.
Neither Omaha nor Muskegon could score in regulation Saturday, but Harrison Roy sent the 3,146 home fans at Ralston Arena home happy with a shot that appeared to deflect off a Lumberjacks player and into the net for a 1-0 OT win.
The Lumberjacks do get a point for their efforts but fall to 2-1 in overtime for the season and 20-4-1-0 overall. Their 41 points is still comfortably in front of the 29 points of second-place Chicago.
"We weren't at our best," said Muskegon coach Mike Hamilton, whose squad posted a 4-0 win over the Lancers Friday night. "(The Lancers) played great though. They played great defensively and shut us down. But we got three points out of the weekend, so there's nothing to hang our heads about."
Omaha recorded its eighth win of the season to catch up with Lincoln at the bottom of the Western Conference with 18 points.
The game set up to be a pretty good duel between Bussi and Omaha goalie Akira Schmid. The two netminders traded save for save for the first 60 minutes of the game.
As it turned out it would be Bussi who would blink first, as Roy, in his second game with the Lancers, fired a shot which appeared to change directions and sail past Bussi and into the net.
The goal set off an enthusiastic celebration for the hosts, who battled the top team in the USHL for 120-plus minutes and managed to escape with a win and two points.
The Lumberjacks had two goals waved off in the game. The first one came in the second period, and the second one came with 4:53 left in regulaton. They were on the power play and there was no doubt they put the puck in the net, but after a lengthy discussion at center ice the referees decided to wave the goal off.
"To be honest we didn't quite understand the call on either one of them, but they get the final say," Hamilton said.
There was nothing doing for either team the rest of regulaton. Sixteen seconds into OT though the Lumberjacks ran out of chances to sweep the Lancers.
"There was a little bit of a mistake on our end, and it cost us," Hamilton said. "We'll learn from it."
Schmid finished with 32 saves for the win. Bussi stopped 29 of 30 Omaha shots.
Muskegon couldn't score a goal on any of its four power play chances. Omaha went 0-for-2 on the power play.
Don't forget you can give the gift of the Lumberjacks to family and friends with the special Holiday Package 3-game plan. For $39 you can give a reserved (blue) ticket plus a free game program for each of the home games including Dec. 29 vs. Madison, January 13 against Central Illinois and February 9 vs. Central Illinois.
Deadline to purchase the Holiday Package is before the 7:15 p.m. game on Dec. 29. Contact Kaitlyn at (231) 724-5225 x255 or kreed@muskegonlumberjacks.com to get the tickets today.
United States Hockey League Stories from December 15, 2018
- Storm Drop Opening Game of Weekend to Fargo - Tri-City Storm
- Sioux City Splits Weekend Series With Dubuque - Sioux City Musketeers
- Muskegon Suffers First Overtime Loss, Falls to Omaha 1-0 - Muskegon Lumberjacks
- Dubuque Shuts Down Sioux City, 2-1 - Dubuque Fighting Saints
- Central Illinois Falls Short to Cedar Rapids in Final Game Before Christmas Break - Central Illinois Flying Aces
- Stampede Sweep Away Gamblers at PREMIER Center - Sioux Falls Stampede
- Phantoms Hit a Steel Wall - Youngstown Phantoms
- Stars Fall to Des Moines 3-0 - Lincoln Stars
- Steel Slide to 7-2 Win over Phantoms - Chicago Steel
- Preview - Stars vs Buccaneers - Lincoln Stars
- Gameday Preview: Storm Travel to Fargo for Weekend Series vs. Force - Tri-City Storm
- Sioux City Gets Big Shootout Victory Friday Night - Sioux City Musketeers
- Central Illinois Rallies to Defeat Des Moines, 3 to 2, in the Shootout - Central Illinois Flying Aces
- Stars Can't Stave off Black Hawks in 5-4 Loss - Lincoln Stars
- Muskegon Shuts out Omaha 4-0 in First of Two in Nebraska - Muskegon Lumberjacks
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
