No Controversy on Saturday Night as Lumberjacks Secure Season Series Win with 3-2 Win over Phantoms
USHL Muskegon Lumberjacks

No Controversy on Saturday Night as Lumberjacks Secure Season Series Win with 3-2 Win over Phantoms

Published on February 14, 2026 under United States Hockey League (USHL)
Muskegon Lumberjacks News Release


YOUNGSTOWN, OH - Entering Saturday night's matchup, the Muskegon Lumberjacks (29-15-0-1, 59 pts.) held the advantage in the season-long series against the Youngstown Phantoms (32-10-3-2, 68 pts.) with a 4-1-0-1 record against the Eastern Conference Rival. A 3-2 win helped the Jacks pick up the season series win with two more matchups remaining on the schedule.

The 2025-26 series marks the third consecutive series to go the way of the Lumberjacks, who have found success on home ice and at the Covelli Centre over the past few seasons.

Carrying the momentum from Friday night's overtime win into Saturday's game, the Lumberjacks opened the scoring just 33 seconds into the contest. Chuck Blanchard (West Hartford, CT) carried the puck into the offensive zone and tapped a pass to Jake Stuart (Manhattan Beach, CA), who helped get the puck towards the goal frame. The puck came back to the front of the net from below the goal line to Rudolfs Berzkalns (Cesis, LAT), who hammered home a one-time blast for his 8th goal of the season.

Youngstown opened the scoring in the second period with its first of two power-play goals. Ryan Rucinski collapsed on the crease and found a loose puck at the side of the net after the initial shot was turned aside. Rucinski forced the puck across the goal line to tie the game 1-1, 6 minutes into the frame, and sent the game into a short delay as the ice crew cleaned up the teddy bears from the ice.

A pair of goals in quick succession helped the Jacks regain the lead and extend it to an unreachable point for the Phantoms. Carter Amico (Westbrook, ME) scored his first of the season on a seeing eye shot from the far side of the blue line at the 13:57 mark on assists from Luis Jonerheim (Lund, SWE) and Anthony Thomas-Maroon (St. Louis, MO).

Just about a minute and a half later, the Jacks made it 3-1 with a highlight reel goal from Niles Benson (Tampa, FL). Picking up possession on the far side of the Youngstown zone, Benson carried the puck up towards the blue line and curled down towards the net. A nifty move helped him past a Phantom defender, and despite his original shot being turned aside, Benson found the rebound on the near side post and tapped it across the goal line for his 16th goal of the season.

Five minutes into the third period, the Phantoms brought the game to within a single goal with a power play tally. A pretty passing play saw the puck move across the top of the zone to Evan Jardine on the far side of the ice. Jardine slid a pass to Jack Hextall in the middle of the slot for another one-timer goal, his second of the weekend.

In the end, the Jacks held on to the 3-2 lead in large part due to the efforts of Carl Axelsson (Danderyd, SWE) (23-8-0-0), who stopped 31 of the 33 shots he faced in the 60-minute contest. Owen Lepak (9-3-0-1) saw 25 shots, allowing 3 goals to earn the loss on his record.

Sunday afternoon, the Jacks and Phantoms close the three-game weekend series at the Covelli Centre. Puck drop is scheduled for 4:05 pm EST on FloHockey and the Lumberjacks Hockey Network on Mixlr.

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United States Hockey League Stories from February 14, 2026


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