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USHL Muskegon Lumberjacks

Muskegon Trims Magic Number to Clinch East to 7 with Shootout Win over Lincoln

March 23, 2019 - United States Hockey League (USHL)
Muskegon Lumberjacks News Release


MUSKEGON, MI - The Muskegon Lumberjacks took a big step towards clinching their first Eastern Conference championship Saturday night.

It took a shootout, but the Lumberjacks stepped up to secure two more points in a thrilling 4-3 win over Lincoln to trim their magic number to clinch the East down to seven.

Declan Carlile's first goal as a Lumberjack tied the game for the hosts midway through the third period to help them grab one point, and Egor Afanasyev's shootout goal nabbed the second point and sent the 2,779 fans home happy from L.C. Walker Arena on Detroit Red Wings night.

The Lumberjacks now have just six games remaining in the regular season, including two at home and four on the road.

They own a 10-point lead over second-place Chicago and an 11-point lead on Youngstown, although both of those teams have eight games remaining.

Muskegon improves to 2-2 on this extended stay at home, with its next game also coming at home next Friday against Waterloo. It plays at Central Illinois, Madison, Green Bay and Team USA U17s before wrapping up the regular season at home against Chicago on April 13.

Muskegon goalie Brandon Bussi made the second point possible, as he made three outstanding saves in overtime and was 3-for-3 in the shootout on his way to his franchise-record 31st win.

All tolled Bussi made 25 saves on 28 Stars shots.

Jacob Mucitelli matched Bussi in the first two rounds of the shootout, but he couldn't deny Afanasyev.

The Russian forward, who had earlier scored his 24th goal of the season to give Muskegon a 2-1 lead early in the third period and stopped his eight-game goal-less streak, was the final shootout shooter of the night, and he made it look easy.

Afanasyev's fake shot on the forehand was very convincing, and when he brought the puck to his backhand he had nothing but net to shoot at.

The Lumberjacks improved to 4-1 in shootouts while the Stars fell to 1-4 in the shootout.

The game featured some added flair as four players, two on each roster, were playing against their former team.

Former Lumberjack Brock Bremer scored the go-ahead goal for Lincoln at 9:39 of the third to make it 3-2 for the guests, but former Star Carlile struck back with his fourth of the season but first as a Muskegon Lumberjack to even the score.

Hunter Skinner also played for Lincoln against his former team, while Max Ellis recorded two shots in his effort with Muskegon against his former team.

Fittingly Cam Knuble, son of former Detroit Red Wing player Mike Knuble, scored the first goal of the game on Red Wing night. He made it 1-0 Muskegon at the 12:36 mark of the second period.

The floodgates opened in the third period, as the teams combined for five goals in the final 20 minutes for a see-saw finish.

Tristan Ashbrook tied the game at 1-all for Lincoln just 22 seconds into the final frame, but Afanasyev answered 1:33 later with an assist from Cam McDonald.

Grant Johnson tied it up again for the Stars just two minutes later, and Bremer gave them their first lead of the game near the midway mark of the third period. It would be short-lived, however, as Carlile scored for Muskegon 43 seconds later.

Both teams recorded four shots on goal in a wide-open OT. Muskegon coach Mike Hamilton called timeout after the second great scoring chance for Lincoln at the 3:02 mark of the extra session.

The Lumberjacks were 0-for-1 on the power play, while the Stars converted their only chance with the man advantage.

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United States Hockey League Stories from March 23, 2019


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.

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