Week #22 Preview: Bigger Than Hockey
USHL Muskegon Lumberjacks

Week #22 Preview: Bigger Than Hockey

Published on February 20, 2026 under United States Hockey League (USHL)
Muskegon Lumberjacks News Release


MUSKEGON, MI - Friday night, when the Muskegon Lumberjacks take to the ice at Trinity Health Arena, they'll do so against the Sioux City Musketeers as well as alongside them in the fight against Cancer. Week 22 of the USHL regular season brings an opportunity for the Lumberjacks to roll the success of a three-game sweep against Youngstown into a two-game set on home ice against an unfamiliar foe.

Week 22 Preview: Keep the Energy Buzzing

Last week was an identity check for the Lumberjacks, who played three games against the Youngstown Phantoms at the Covelli Centre in eastern Ohio. The defense was spectacular for the Lumberjacks, who only allowed two goals per game over the weekend. Friday night, despite trailing 2-0 at the end of the first period, the Jacks picked up a 3-2 overtime win thanks to a Chuck Blanchard (West Hartford, CT) goal with just 2 seconds left in the extra period.

Saturday brought the same score line, but in regulation. Rudolfs Berzkalns (Cesis, LAT) opened the scoring just 33 seconds into the game with goals from Carter Amico (Westbrook, ME) and Niles Benson (Tampa, FL) in the second period to clinch the win. Carl Axelsson (Danderyd, SWE) picked up both wins on Friday and Saturday, stopping 50 of the 54 shots he faced in the two nights.

Sunday wasn't as close of a game. 3 Goals in the first period, including the first career USHL goal for Will Schlechtweg (Goshen, NY) to open the scoring. Samuel Doyon-Cataquiz (Montreal, QC, CAN) made his first career appearance in the USHL, earning the win with 32 shots on 34 shots against. In the end, the Lumberjacks earned the weekend sweep with a 5-2 win, setting the tone for the last month and a half of the regular season.

Sioux City enters this weekend's series after winning a game and losing a game last week. Saturday night against Omaha, the Musketeers picked up a 5-1 win thanks to 4 straight goals through the first two periods. Four Musketeers recorded multiple points, including Elias Vatne, who had a goal and two assists.

Sunday afternoon didn't end as great for the Musketeers, who fell 4-3 in a shootout to the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders. It was the familiar faces finding the score sheet for the Muskies, with goals from Vatne, Luke Garry, and Ashton Shultz. Both Shayne Gould and William Tomko had two assists for multi-point performances.

Despite a lopsided total on the shot chart that saw Sioux City lead the game 32-19, and a perfect 5/5 on the penalty kill, The Musketeers watched the Riders sneak away with the extra point in the shootout.

Countdown to 500: Lumberjacks at 496 Wins All-Time

Three wins last week have the Lumberjacks four away from 500 in the USHL. As we count down the wins to the half-century mark, we are taking a look at some of the biggest names that have contributed to the win total over the past 15 seasons.

This week, we look at the players who put on the Black and Gold more than anybody else, with the 10 players with the most games played in Lumberjacks history.

100 Point Scorers in Lumberjacks History:

Colby Bukes (2016-19) - 177

Tyler Dunbar (2019-23) - 176

Bo Hanson (2014-17) - 169

Jack Williams (2018-2022) - 163

Ethan Whitcomb (2021-24) - 157

Anthony Del Gaizo (2015-18) - 157

Mason Jobst (2011-15) - 156

Robbie DeMontis (2013-16) - 153

Carter Foguth (2010-13) - 142

Daniil Gushchin (2018-21) - 139

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, tune into the Pregame Show on Facebook Live. New for this season, the whole pregame show will be available on FloHockey before all Lumberjacks home games.

Upcoming Games

Fri. February 20 | 7:00 pm EST | vs Sioux City Musketeers

Sat. February 21 | 6:00 pm EST | vs Sioux City Musketeers

Wed. February 25 | 10:05 am EST | at Youngstown Phantoms

Sat. February 28 | 7:05 pm EST | at Omaha Lancers

Sun. March 1 | 5:05 pm EST | at Omaha Lancers

Check out the Muskegon Lumberjacks Statistics

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United States Hockey League Stories from February 20, 2026


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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