Power Play Pushes Jacks to Regular Season Finale Win 4-2 in Chicago

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USHL Muskegon Lumberjacks

Power Play Pushes Jacks to Regular Season Finale Win 4-2 in Chicago

April 12, 2025 - United States Hockey League (USHL)
Muskegon Lumberjacks News Release


GENEVA, IL - The special teams were perfect on Saturday night for the Muskegon Lumberjacks (38-16-4-4, 84 pts.), leading the way to a season ending 4-2 win over top the Chicago Steel (20-36-5-1, 46 pts.)

The Steel took a 1-0 lead in the first period at the 13:25 mark, thanks to a goal from Aidan Dyer. As he made his way deep into the Lumberjacks' zone, Dyer played pass with Jackson Crowder and received a return pass at the bottom of the far side circle. Dyer lifted a backhanded shot into the top corner of the net to give Chicago the early lead.

The power play for Muskegon was red hot, going a perfect 3/3 on the night, starting with a game-tying goal at the 5:12 mark of the second period. Tynan Lawrence (Fredericton, NB, CAN) blocked a clearing attempt from the Chicago penalty killers on the near side of the ice and carried the puck towards the middle of the slot. With the puck on his forehand, Lawrence ripped a shot to the back of the net for his 25th goal of the season.

Chicago responded just over 10 minutes later to regain their lead before the second intermission. Luke Goukler carried the puck into the offensive zone on the far side of the ice all the way down the wall and behind the net to the near side. As Goukler reached the top of the circle Chris Reiniger dropped from the blue line and received a pass on the far side of the ice before sending a shot across the goal line with 4 minutes to play in the middle period.

The Lumberjacks came out with three goals in the third period to tie the game, take the lead, and create some separation. The first goal came 4:19 into the frame on another power play for the Jacks. Lawrence received the puck on the near-side wall and fired a shot towards the top corner of the net. Despite the shot being stopped, it provided a rebound in the blue paint for Ivan Ryabkin (Balakovo, RUS) to tap across the goal line.

Only 50 seconds later, the Jacks were back on the power play. This time, Ryabkin got a pass on the far side of the ice from Luka Radivojevic (Trencin, SVK). In one motion, Ryabkin caught the pass and fired one across the slot to David Deputy (Gurnee, IL) for a nearly empty net one timer to give the Jacks a 3-2 lead.

Chicago pulled their goalie in a last-ditch effort to tie the game late in regulation, but as he stepped onto the bench Xavier Veilleux (L'Ancienne-Lorrette, QC, CAN) fired a shot from the top of his own circles down the ice into the empty net to make it 4-2 Muskegon.

Shikhabutdin Gadzhiev (Makhachkala, RUS) (19-10-2-1) stopped 23 of the 25 shots sent his way to earn the win on his record. Jack Parsons (12-18-3-1) earned the loss with 28 saves on 32 shots in the crease for the Steel.

The Jacks await the final scores from a pair of games around the league to find out whether they will host a first-round matchup or take advantage of a first-round bye before hosting the start of the second-round next weekend.

Stay tuned on social media @muskegonjacks as well as at muskegonlumberjacks.com for more information regarding the post season schedule.

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