Rivalry Week Hits the Lakeshore: Jacks Battle Phantoms
USHL Muskegon Lumberjacks

Rivalry Week Hits the Lakeshore: Jacks Battle Phantoms

Published on October 3, 2025 under United States Hockey League (USHL)
Muskegon Lumberjacks News Release


MUSKEGON, MI - The teams have only played four out of the sixty-two games in the regular season. Still, the weekend series between the Muskegon Lumberjacks and Youngstown Phantoms will have a playoff feel as two of the biggest rivals in the USHL meet for the first time this season.

Both Muskegon and Youngstown enter the week 3 match-up with perfect 4-0 records and spots at the top of the USHL standings. Strong goaltending has been the recipe for success on both sides of the ice, with Goalie of the Week honors being split between the teams in the first two weeks of the season.

Week 3 Preview: New Month, New Test

Entering the 2025-26 season, most people around the USHL had Muskegon and Youngstown pegged among the top teams in the USHL. So far, that has rung true with both teams starting the year 4-0. Muskegon picked up a shootout win and an overtime win in week one over the Waterloo Black Hawks (4-3 SOW) and Sioux City Musketeers (3-2 OTW) Youngstown opened the new season with a commanding win over Tri-City (5-0 W) and finished the week with a shootout win of their own over Cedar Rapids (4-3 SOW).

Week 2 brought two more wins for each team. For the Lumberjacks, it was an exciting time at Trinity Health Arena. The Annual Flannel Fest Street Party kicked off the fun, followed by the 2025 Clark Cup Championship Banner Raising and a pair of wins (3-0, 3-2) over the Green Bay Gamblers. Youngstown took on the USNTDP Under-18 Team in Plymouth, MI, at USA Hockey Arena for a pair of games. A 3-1 win on Friday was followed by a 5-2 final on Saturday.

Carl Axelsson (Danderyd, SWE) earned both wins in the crease for the Lumberjacks. His 1.63 GAA is 5th in the USHL, and the shutout on Friday night is matched by Tobias Trejbal, who is one of the other two goalies in the USHL to have shutouts on their records.

Trejbal has been electric to start the season for the Phantoms. He is second in the USHL with a .957 SV% and 1.00 GAA. Fans can expect a couple of low-scoring but action-packed games with the goalies on both sides playing well.

On the offensive side of the puck, Muskegon is led by Melvin Novotny (Stockholm, SWE) with 4 points in his first four games. The Buffalo Sabres draft pick started hot at the Fall Classic with a pair of goals in the OT win over Sioux City, and last week found the back of the net and added an assist to stay at a point per game. Malachi McKinnon was acquired as an affiliate player from the Fargo Force at the trade deadline last season and has started the new year on his new team with 6 points in 4 games, tied for 1st in the USHL.

Player Profile: Lars Hutson

There is a lot of pressure being the youngest in a very successful family. Lars Hutson (North Barrington, IL) not only welcomes the pressure but thrives under it. His father, Rob, played parts of four seasons here in Muskegon for the Fury in the UHL, but then turned to dad duty when Quinn was born in January of 2002. The oldest, Quinn, continued in his father's footsteps and played in Muskegon in the USHL before moving to Boston University for his NCAA College Hockey career. Now, Quinn has signed with the Edmonton Oilers, where he made his NHL debut at the end of last season.

The second son is Lane. After a successful junior career at the USNTDP, Lane also went to BU before jumping to the NHL with the Montreal Canadians and winning the Calder Trophy as the league's best rookie. Cole, the third son, also played at the NTDP and made the jump to Boston University. After leading the 2025 World Junior Championship in scoring as a defenseman, Cole is now on the shortlist for the 2025-26 Hobey Baker Award.

Lars brings the exciting Hutson style of play with him to Muskegon, where he has already recorded a point as an offensive-minded defenseman. His smaller frame is paired with above-average puck-handling skills. Fans in Muskegon and around the hockey world should be ready, because the fourth Hutson brother is poised to prove that the best always comes last.

Lumberjacks On 2025-26 NCAA DI Rosters

There are plenty of #JacksAlumni sprinkled throughout the NCAA Division I level for the 2025-26 season. Eighty players who have worn the Sawblade will take to the ice for one of the 62 Division I teams.

The ECAC leads the way with 22 Lumberjacks playing in the conference this season. Harvard has the most players on one team, with five donning the Crimson. Michael Callow, Matthew Morden, Justin Solovey, and Philip Tresca are joined by 2025 Clark Cup Champion, Chase Stefanek, for his first season of College Hockey.

Three teams have multiple players from the Lumberjacks 2024-25 roster, including UMass Amherst, where Jack Galanek and Vaclav Nestrasil will play this season, the University of Michigan with Teddy Spitznagel and Stephen Peck, and Miami (OH) with David Deputy and Shikhabutdin Gadzhiev.

We wish all of the Lumberjacks alums good luck as they compete for the 2026 NCAA Division I Hockey National Championship!

Over the Airwaves

FloHockey is the official live stream partner of the Muskegon Lumberjacks. Follow along all season long on FloHockey, or with a free internet radio feed available on Mixlr and the Lumberjacks Hockey Network, with Voice of the Jacks, Ezra Gennello.

Thirty minutes to puck drop every game day, the West Michigan Honda Dealers Pregame Show takes place on Facebook Live. New for this season, the whole pregame show will be available on FloHockey before all Lumberjacks home games.

Upcoming Games

Fri. October 3 | 7:00 pm ET | vs Youngstown

Sat. October 4 | 6:00 pm ET | vs Youngstown

Fri. October 10 | 7:00 pm ET | at USNTDP Under-17 Team

Sat. October 11 | 6:00 pm ET | vs USNTDP Under-17 Team

Check out the Muskegon Lumberjacks Statistics

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United States Hockey League Stories from October 3, 2025


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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