USHL Muskegon Lumberjacks

Weekend Preview: Home Ice Advantage up for Grabs

Published on April 5, 2018 under United States Hockey League (USHL)
Muskegon Lumberjacks News Release


MUSKEGON, MI - The Muskegon Lumberjacks have punched their ticket to the Clark Cup playoffs, but home ice advantage in the first round is still up for grabs.

Muskegon will have the opportunity to clinch home ice advantage in the first round of the 2018 postseason this weekend when they hit the road to take on the Central Illinois Flying Aces and Madison Capitols.

The Magic Number for Muskegon to clinch home ice advantage in the best-of-three first round is six, so they can't do it on their own this weekend. But with two victories, and one Dubuque regulation loss to Team USA, Muskegon would seal up, at worst, the four seed.

Under the new USHL playoff format, six teams from each conference qualify. The first round consists of a three-game series, with all three games taking place at the better seed. This makes home-ice advantage in that series paramount.

The Lumberjacks have concluded their home schedule, and now wrap up the regular season with a four-game road trip that begins Friday against the Central Illinois Flying Aces. The Aces have already guaranteed themselves the top picks in both USHL drafts this May, and have a record of 14-37-2-3. Central Illinois has struggled this season, but lately have perked up. Since losing 16 in a row, the Aces have won two of their last six, including one over Muskegon back on March 10.

The Flying Aces can't be overlooked, especially at home, where they defeated Muskegon in the last meeting. Central Illinois has just four road wins all season, but owns a 10-16-2 record at home.

Friday's game is slated for 8:07pm and will be aired on 92.5 Nash Icon and HockeyTV.com.

On Saturday, the Jacks head to Bob Suter's Capitol Ice Arena for the final time this season, in hopes of winning for the third straight time in Madison's new building. The Capitols' playoff hopes are now all but dashed, and they could be officially eliminated by the time Muskegon shows up on Saturday night.

The Caps' defensive woes have doomed them down the stretch, and over their last 14 games, of which Madison has won only three, the Caps are allowing more than 4.5 goals per game. To make matters worse, Madison goalie Dryden McKay, arguably their best player, suited up against Muskegon two weeks ago, but hasn't played since. McKay has been recovering from an injury he suffered on March 15th.

Muskegon will start the process of preparing for the postseason this weekend by making a change to their top line. Matej Pekar, who leads the team with 38 assists and is second on the roster with 51 points, will be replaced by Emilio Pettersen on the Jacks' top line.

Pekar will miss the first round of the Clark Cup playoffs as well as the Eastern Conference Semifinal while he represents the Czech Republic in the U18 World Championships.

Pettersen will hope to gel quickly with Mikael Hakkarainen and Anthony Del Gaizo, who will no doubt make it easy for the highly-skilled Norwegian. Playing alongside two of the best players in the USHL, expect Pettersen's offensive numbers to get an immediate boost.

Saturday's game is scheduled for 7:05pm EST, and will be live on 92.5 Nash Icon and HockeyTV.com.

Muskegon will no doubt be scoreboard watching this weekend, monitoring what Dubuque does against Team USA. However, Muskegon needs to handle their own business first to clinch home ice this weekend.

Green Bay is just a point back, and Dubuque only two, so the Eastern Conference playoff picture is far from solidified. This weekend, however, could provide some clarity as to who's in, who's out, and who's hosting the first round.

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United States Hockey League Stories from April 5, 2018


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