A really bad third period doomed the Muskegon Lumberjacks on Friday night in a 6-3 loss to the Green Bay Gamblers in Wisconsin.
The game was tied 3-3 after two periods, but Green Bay scored three unanswered goals in the third period to take away the win.
The loss put a damper on a promising week for the Lumberjacks, who kicked things off with a big 4-3 victory over the elite Team USA 18-Under squad on Wednesday.
It also put a nick in the Jacks’ sparkling recent record. Muskegon had won 10 of its last 12 games coming into Friday’s contest.
The Jacks are now 12-10-3 on the season and remain in fourth place in the USHL’s Eastern Conference. Green Bay, the fifth-place team in the conference, reached the .500 mark at 11-11-1.
The Jacks will finish their two-day trip to Green Bay with a rematch on Saturday night against the Gamblers.
Special teams play, an old problem that had improved lately, reared its ugly head again for the Jacks. Three of the six goals they gave up were on Green Bay power plays, and Muskegon failed to score on six power-play opportunities.
[1]Muskegon’s Jake Braccini opened the scoring with his ninth goal of the season at 9:59 of the first period. Green Bay’s Ryan Greene scored later in the period, and the game was tied 1-1 after one.
The teams traded goals in the second period. Finding the net were Green Bay’s Ales Servagno (10:05), Muskegon’s Phillip Tresca (ninth goal of the season, 13:23), Green Bay’s Jackson Hullum (14:12) and Muskegon’s Jake Richard (third goal of the season, 16:46). The score was knotted 3-3 headed into the third period.
The Gamblers took control down the stretch, getting unanswered goals from Brody Lamb (9:04), Jarod Crespo (9:08) and Cameron Lund (15:52).
Lumberjacks goalie Alexander Kuleshov took the loss, stopping 28 of the 34 shots he faced. The Jacks had a 40-34 advantage in shots on goal.
Tresca and Gavin McCarthy each had two assists for Muskegon.