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USHL Muskegon Lumberjacks

Robbie DeMontis Buries Lone Lumberjacks Marker in Road Setback

April 4, 2015 - United States Hockey League (USHL)
Muskegon Lumberjacks News Release


YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (April 4th) - The Muskegon Lumberjacks looked to extend their three-game road winning streak in a key Eastern Conference showdown against the East-leading Youngstown Phantoms at the Covelli Centre with the visitors seeking a regular season series split at three games apiece. The host Phantoms went on to use a three-goal second period, including a two-goal effort on the power play, to turn a 1-0 game through one period into a wider margin that proved to be the difference in a 5-1 decision over the Lumberjacks led by Kyle Connor's five-point offensive outburst.

Minutes into the game, the Phantoms (38-14-5, 81 points) grabbed an early 1-0 lead at the 3:20 mark as a wrist shot from the right faceoff circle by Connor found its way past the outstretched right pad of Eric Schierhorn (25-13-4) and inside the far side right post for his team-leading 30th goal of the season that was helped by Ryan Lomberg and Kris Myllari.

Later in the first, Youngstown had an opportunity to double the lead to 2-0 with 3:00 left as a penalty shot opportunity by Connor ended up unsuccessful after the Michigan commit mishandled the puck.

The one shot game remained the same heading into the first intermission with Youngstown outshooting Muskegon through the opening 20 minutes, 11-6. Both teams were 0-for-1 on the power play.

The Phantoms went on to extend its lead to 4-0 with a trio of goals in the second period including two coming on the man advantage. Beginning at the 1:34 mark, Connor fired home his second of the game and 31st of the season from the right faceoff circle through Schierhorn's five hole to make it a 2-0 game that was assisted by Kiefer Sherwood and Max Letunov.

As the game steered into the second half, Youngstown tripled the advantage to 3-0 at the 10:35 mark as a two-on-one odd man rush opportunity led to Connor feeding a streaking Kole Sherwood on the backdoor in between the faceoff circles, who went on to one-time his first career USHL marker. Connor Yau received the secondary assist on the goal.

To cap off the period, the hosts made it a four-goal spread just 1:31 later back on the power play with Chase Pearson stuffing home his 11th of the season to the left of Schierhorn that was helped by Letunov and Connor.

Youngstown outshot Muskegon during the middle stanza by a 16-7 spread and extending the margin overall to 27-13.

Moments in the third frame, the Lumberjacks (34-20-4, 72 points) notched their lone goal of the night 1:11 in as a wrist shot from the high slot by Robbie DeMontis found its way over the left shoulder of Chris Birdsall (17-7-5) for his seventh of the season to trim the deficit to 4-1 that was aided by Matej Paulovic and Bo Hanson.

The Phantoms potted one more before the night ended by Connor in the left faceoff circle beating Schierhorn on the short side for the hat trick to amass his goal total to 32 on the season that was helped set up by Myllari at the 6:55 mark.

Muskegon outshot Youngstown by a 15-3 margin in the third but ended up dropping the shot battle overall by a slim 30-28 margin.

Chris Birdsall grabbed the victory for the Phantoms with a 27-save effort, while Eric Schierhorn took loss stopping 25 of 30 shots faced. Muskegon was 0-for-2 on the power play, while Youngstown finished the game 2-for-4. Kyle Connor led the Phantoms' offensive push with a hat trick plus a pair of helpers followed by Max Letunov and Kris Myllari contributing to the cause dishing out two assists each. Robbie DeMontis laced his 11th career USHL goal, Matej Paulovic recorded his 40th career USHL assist, and Bo Hanson picked up his first league point on the road for the Lumberjacks. Muskegon finishes the six-game regular season series with a 2-3-1 record against Youngstown that includes a 2-1-0 mark at the Covelli Centre.

Muskegon concludes the 2014-15 regular season next weekend with a pair of contests in Madison, Wisconsin against the expansion Madison Capitols on Friday, April 10th and Saturday, April 11th at 8:00 pm, respectively, from the Alliant Energy Center.

The Lumberjacks have qualified for the 2015 Clark Cup Playoffs, and tickets for the postseason are now on sale. Fans that place a $60 deposit on their 2015-16 season ticket by the end of the business day on Tuesday, April 14th receive two tickets to the first round of the playoffs and only pay $40 for the remaining two rounds. For fans that are unable to place a $60 deposit down, they can still purchase playoff ticket packages for $60 that includes all three rounds while being eligible to receive a credit on their season ticket balance for next season on tickets for games not played throughout this year's playoffs.

Individual playoff tickets are also on sale for $14 (Gold Sections), $12 (Crimson Sections), $10 (Black Sections), $7 (Youth ages 3-13), and $10 (Seniors/Military/Students). Pricing remains the same on or before the day of the scheduled game.

To purchase tickets for the Clark Cup Playoffs, fans can stop by the L.C. Walker Arena Box Office during the normal business hours of 10:00 am - 6:00 pm on Monday - Friday or call (231) 724-5225.

The Lumberjacks are on the radio waves as Nash Icon 92.5 FM is the team's flagship provider for the 2014-15 season. Tune in as the "Voice of the Lumberjacks" Bryan Fongers delivers the call beginning 15 minutes prior to the opening puck drop. All games can also be listened and watched live online at www.fasthockey.com.

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United States Hockey League Stories from April 4, 2015


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