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USHL Muskegon Lumberjacks

Series Preview - Jacks Take on 18's in Home and Home Series

April 4, 2024 - United States Hockey League (USHL)
Muskegon Lumberjacks News Release


MUSKEGON, MI - The final time this season the Muskegon Lumberjacks (36-20-1-1, 74 pts.) face off against the USA Hockey NTDP Under-18 Team (19-32-2-3, 43 pts.) in a home and home series starting on Friday night. The first game will be in Muskegon at Trinity Health Arena while on Saturday the teams head to the other end of route 96 to Plymouth and USA Hockey Arena.

THE MATCHUP

The Jacks and USA Hockey's NTDP Under-18 team have seen each other just two times this season. The first home game of the regular season saw the Jacks pick up a very commanding 6-3 win in front of a large "Kids Day" crowd at Trinity Health Arena on September 29th. Sacha Boisvert (Trois-Rivieres, QC, CAN) and Matvei Gridin (Kurgan, RUS) both scored twice in the win while Joe Connor (Amherst, NH) and Easton Young (Grand Rapids, MN) each added a pair of assists.

The second time the teams met wasn't until December 28th when the Jacks kicked off the final weekend of the calendar year with a 9-3 loss at USA Hockey Arena. Four USA players James Hagens, Lucas Van Vliet, Christian Humphreys, and Shane Vansaghi each picked up 3 point performance. Jack Parsons and Nick Kempf split the game in the crease for the NTDP only having to face a combined 14 shots from the Jacks.

ABOUT LAST WEEKEND

Coming off a three win weekend including a two game sweep of the Sioux City Musketeers, and Sunday, Fun Day win over the NTDP Under-17 team the Jacks hit the road for a pair of games in Cedar Rapids against the RoughRiders.

Gridin scored on the Jacks first shot of the game after Connor sent him on a breakaway less than :90 seconds into the contest. Boisvert made it 2-0 for the Jacks in the second period with a powerplay goal before Ty Henricks (Mission Viejo, CA) added a power play goal of his own just two and ah half minutes later. The Riders struck in the third, but an empty netter from Justin Solovey (Holmdel, NJ) helped the Jacks to a 4-1 win. Shikhabudtin Gadzhiev (Makhachkala, RUS) earned the win with 31 saves on 32 shots against.

Saturday night the RoughRiders were the ones who got off to a quick start. A power play just :4 seconds into the game helped Cedar Rapids build enough momentum to open the scoring at the 4:08 mark of the first period. The next seven goals belonged to Muskegon though.

Gridin tied the game at the 3:14 mark of the second period to kick off a 4 goal period with strikes from Connor, Solovey, and Jack Galanek (Hopkinton, MA). The third period brought another 3 goals for the Jacks. Whitcomb found the back of the net first while Connor and Solovey both added their second goals of the game to make it 7-1. Gadzhiev impressed again with a 24 save performance on 25 shots sent his way.

76 miles northeast from Cedar Rapids the 18s found themselves in a high scoring weekend against the Dubuque Fighting Saints. Between the two games the Saints and Program combined for 22 goals. Friday night the 18s were winners in shootout fashion 5-4. Dakoda Rheaume-Mullen and Brendan McMorrow each had two points while Kempf stopped 43 of 47 shots.

Saturday brought another tight game that again needed extra time to find a winner. This time it was the Saints who put the game in the win column with a 7-6 overtime decision. Hagens scored 4 goals and added another 2 assists leading the way for the NTDP.

HOW DO THE JACKS TAKE OVER SECOND PLACE?

Even though a spot in the playoffs has been clinched there are still some questions surrounding the Jacks and the post season. While not knowing who your first round opponent is going to be is nerve racking enough the Jacks don't even know if they are going to play in the first round.

Currently tied for second place with Green Bay the Jacks have played 1 more game than the Gamblers. That game will be made up this weekend when the Gamblers take on the Youngstown Phantoms in a three game series at the Covelli Centre in Youngstown, OH.

Should the Jacks and Gamblers win the same amount of games over the weekend then we will have to wait until next week when the Jacks close the regular season in Chicago to see where the Jacks will sit heading into the post season.

Whether its in second or third the only thing that truly matters is that the Jacks are back in the post season.

What's amazing about his point total is that they aren't all goals, or all assists. Gridin shares the team lead for goals with 30 (Boisvert) which ranks 3rd in the USHL and shares a team lead for assists with 39 (Whitcomb) which is also 3rd in the league.

With the final 10 games coming up Gridin is looking to leave a lasting impression before the 2024 NHL Draft where he is a projected first round selection.

LUMBERJACKS IN THE NCAA FROZEN FOUR

The Lumberjacks had a total of 32 alumni competing in the 2024 NCAA Tournament. An impressive number that was the second highest in the USHL.12 of the 16 teams that made the tournament will be watching from home as Boston College, Boston University, Denver, and the University of Michigan battle it out for the National Championship. 4 teams highlighting 4 Lumberjacks in the Frozen Four. Boston University leads the way with both Gavin McCarthy and Quinn Hutson on their roster.

Hutson spent two seasons in Muskegon between 2020-2022. In 104 games he recorded 115 points with 49 goals and 66 assists. Following his time as a Lumberjack Hutson moved on to the NCAA level at BU where he joined his brother Lane, a former member of the USA Hockey NTDP and draft pick of the Montreal Canadiens.

McCarthy was on the same roster with Hutson during the 2021-2022 season, but also returned for the 2022-2023 season before capping off his time as a Lumberjack by being selected in the 3rd round of the 2023 NHL Draft by his hometown team, the Buffalo Sabers. In 95 games on the Jacks blue line McCarthy recorded 40 points before joining his older brother Case at BU.

Paxton Geisel who started the season in Muskegon is a member of the Denver Pioneers while Kienan Draper is a Wolverine after spending parts of the 2018-19 season in Muskegon.

OVER THE AIRWAVES

Join Voice of the Lumberjacks Ezra Gennello and catch the action all season long with the USHL's official video streaming partner FloHockey, and with the free radio stream on the Lumberjacks Hockey Network on Mixlr.

UPCOMING GAMES

Fri. April 5 | 7:00 pm EST | vs USNTDP Under-18 Team

Sat. April 6 | 7:00 pm EST | at USNTDP Under-18 Team

Fri. April 12 | 7:05 pm CST | vs Sioux City Musketeers

Sat. April 13 | 6:06 pm CST | vs Sioux City Musketeers

FOLLOW THE JACKS

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United States Hockey League Stories from April 4, 2024


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