MUSKEGON – Road trips are usually about surviving, not thriving, particularly for teams that are struggling.
But the Muskegon Lumberjacks went on the road over the last two weekends and suddenly found their game, winning all three contests and pulling themselves out of the USHL Eastern Conference cellar.
It started on Nov. 13 in Chicago, when the Lumberjacks upset the first-place Steel 5-4. It continued last weekend, when the Jacks visited Dubuque and swept the Fighting Saints, 7-5 on Friday and 6-3 on Saturday.
The sudden turnaround was precisely what the Lumberjacks needed after a terrible start to the season. They only had one win in their first 10 games, and spent weeks occupying the basement of the conference standings.
Now they’ve won three in a row and four of their last five games and are rising in the standings.
The Lumberjacks are 5-7-3 and in sixth place out of eight teams in the Eastern Conference with 13 points. They are only one point behind fifth-place Cedar Rapids and only five behind Dubuque and Youngstown, which are tied for third.
They will finish their long road swing with a game on Wednesday afternoon against the Team USA Under-17 squad in Plymouth, Michigan, before finally returning home for games on Friday and Saturday night against Madison at Mercy Health Arena.
[1]The team’s recent play validates the claim of Lumberjacks Coach Mike Hamilton, who insisted all along that his team had the talent to compete with anybody in the league, and the players just had to get rolling.
“A little confidence goes a long way,” Hamilton said about the sudden winning streak.
Like last week, Hamilton said the team’s improved goaltending has helped bring new life to the entire roster.
The two new Russian goalies are responsible for that. Platon Zadorozhny got the win on Friday, stopping 17 of 22 shots. He’s now 3-2 on the season with a nice 3.73 goals against average. Newcomer Alexander Kuleshov got the win in his first start on Saturday, stopping 26 of 29 shots.
“I think a lot of it has to do with the confidence the players are gaining in the goaltending,” Hamilton said. “They just play a little looser, because they don’t end up paying for every single mistakes they make. That leads to a little more confident brand of hockey.
“I don’t think either (of the goalies) played lights out in Dubuque, but each night each of them made some saves they shouldn’t have made at impact times. On Saturday night, Dubuque should have tied the game up at one point. They had a wide open net, but Kuleshov made a diving save, and a minute and a half later we went down and scored.”
Hamilton expects each of the talented Russian goalies to continue to improve as they grow more accustomed to North American hockey.
He said the goalies will also benefit when they get equipment that fits them. Both Zadorozhny and Kuleshov had to leave their old equipment behind with their former teams in Russia, and in the meantime have been wearing equipment borrowed from the Grand Rapids Griffins while their new gear is on order.
“Hockey is the same as the rest of the world right now – everything is backed up,” Hamilton said about waiting for the new goalie equipment to arrive. “Right now each of them are wearing pads a half size small. It’s like grabbing golf clubs that aren’t yours and playing with them. It takes a while to get used to.”
The offense comes to life
Last weekend’s victories included a lot of offense, something the Jacks definitely were not getting earlier in the season.
A quick glance at the league scoring chart tells the story. The Jacks only have one player – defenseman Jacob Guevin – among the USHL:’s top 20 scorers. He’s in 18th place with 16 points, and 14 of those came on assists.
But the goals were coming hot and heavy for the Jacks in Dubuque.
Friday’s game was particularly exciting, because the Lumberjacks trailed 3-2 after two periods, then exploded for five goals in the third to steal a 7-5 victory. The game was tied 5-5 late in the third period before Ethan Whitcomb and Jack Williams scored in the final two minutes to nail down the win.
Forwards Joey Larson and Phil Tresca each scored two goals in the contest.
[2]On Saturday the Jacks led 3-2 after one period, 5-2 after two and finally won 6-3. Larson again led the way with two goals for Muskegon while Jake Braccini also scored twice.
Larson now leads the Lumberjacks with 10 goals on the season, followed by Quinn Hutson with seven, Ben Strinden with six, Braccini with five and Tresca and Tyler Hotson with four apiece.
“I think Joey was just trying to figure out his role here, and now he’s getting really comfortable,” Hamilton said about Larson. “The less you think and the more you just start playing, success follows.
“A lot of the guys are starting to find themselves. Larson and Braccini are two older guys up front getting comfortable and taking off, while younger guys like Whitcomb and Emil Jarventie are really finding their games, as well. The guys on the blue line have also been really solid in the last few weeks.”