MUSKEGON – The Muskegon Lumberjacks have come too far this season to let some bad news detail their incredible incredible climb from last place to first.
That bad news is what it is – goalie Platon Zadorozhnyy, a talented Russian they signed in October, will not be returning to the team.
He suffered a bout of COVID last year back home, and the lingering effects of the disease were causing him exhaustion and other issues as he tried to keep up with his hockey schedule in Muskegon.
Zadorozhnyy did very well with the Jacks, despite his condition, posting a 9-4 record with a shiny 3.11 goals against average, but the physical toll finally forced him to leave the team and go home to Russia for further medical treatments.
“Platon will not be back,” said Steve Lowe, the Lumberjacks’ President of Hockey Operations. “Unfortunately he has some major medical issues which will not allow him to participate in sports for about six months. He’s committed to playing at the University of Maine next season, and hopefully he gets healthy for that. He’s a great kid. But things happen in sports, and that provides opportunities for other players.”
[1]That left the Lumberjacks with two goalies –Russian Aleksander Kuleshov (who was signed a few weeks after Zadorozhnyy) and Cameron Korpi.
But the Jacks wanted a third quality goalie to keep pushing those two, and they think they found one in Chase Clark, whom they obtained from the Tri-City Storm a few days ago in exchange for a draft pick.
Clark is expected to be with the Lumberjacks for Friday and Saturday’s home games against Madison, although it’s not known whether he will be ready to dress for or play in those matchups.
Clark’s talent and potential seem obvious.
In the 2019-20 season, Clark posted a 12-8-1 record with a very nice 3.10 GAA for the Buffalo Junior Sabres of the Ontario Junior Hockey League. Last season he went 18-2-1 with a miniscule 1.92 GAA for the Jersey Hitmen of the National Collegiate Development Conference.
[2]Clark started the current season as a member of the USHL’s Tri-City Storm and was off to a great start, with a 4-2-1 record and a 2.51 GAA in seven games. But he left the team a while back and was inactive in the league until the trade was completed with Muskegon.
Clark ‘s potential is well known in the hockey world. He was selected by the Washington Capitals in the sixth round of last summer’s National Hockey League draft.
Lowe said the plan is for Clark to help the Jacks for the rest of the season, then return next season for a final USHL experience before moving on to Quinnipiac University.
“Chase Clark was a Washington Capitals draft pick, he’s a very talented goalie, and could end up being one of the best goalies in the USHL,” Lowe said. “He had been sent home (from Tri-City) to wait for a trade. He hasn’t played for them in about six weeks.”
Clark’s arrival continues an ever-changing goalie situation for the Lumberjacks.
Second-year goalie Jan Skorpik began the season as the starter, but struggled in the early weeks and was released. He was replaced by the two skilled Russian goalies, and Korpi started getting more playing time and showing obvious signs of development, as well.
With the loss of Zadorozhnyy and the addition of Clark, the Jacks will continue to have three options in goal, probably for the rest of the season.
“He’s a big kid, and he will add to our roster depth for a playoff push,” Lumberjacks Coach Mike Hamilton said about Clark.
Lumberjacks get a breather
The Lumberjacks reached the pinnacle of their season so far on Jan. 28, when they beat the Green Bay Gamblers 5-4 on the road and found themselves all alone in first place it the USHL’s Eastern Conference, two points ahead of the Chicago Steel, the team that everyone in the conference had been chasing all season.
But things have been a little bumpier for the Jacks in their two games since then.
On Jan. 29 they lost 5-4 to Green Bay in overtime. Ryan Greene scored the game-winner for the Gamblers 2:12 into the extra period.
Then last Friday the Jacks traveled to Plymouth, Michigan and had a wild game against the elite Team USA 18-Under squad. Muskegon led 3-1 after one period and 6-5 after two, and the game was tied 8-8 at the end of regulation. The five-minute overtime period was scoreless, then Team USA outscored the Jacks 1-0 in the shootout to claim the win.
The two close losses left the Lumberjacks with a 22-10-6 record, good for 50 points and second place in the conference, two points behind Chicago.
Hamilton said he was not overly upset about either of the losses, particularly since they both came in overtime against good teams, and the Jacks earned a point in the standings for each.
“To go and actually earn a point against the 18s, I have no problem with that,” Hamilton said. “I’ll take that any time. There was a little bit of frustration because we had the game sealed a couple times and let them back in, but that team is damned good.
“Two days before that game (the 18-Unders) lost to Michigan, the third-ranked college team in the country, then we played them very close on Friday. It was a good point to earn, but we did have opportunities to close that game out.”
Hamilton thought the losses might have been an indicator that Jacks could use a breather after playing more than half of the season and fighting to rise from last place to a tight battle for first.
The schedule is helping in that respect. The Jacks just had a rare one-game weekend and did not play after losing to Team USA on Friday. That gave the players three consecutive days off – Saturday, Sunday and a rare break from practice on Monday.
“For us this one-game weekend was nice, just because the guys are able to get a little bit of a break.” Hamilton said. “This is our last opportunity for guys to get a few days off. It’s a good time for that, then we will get right back to work.”
On deck are the Madison Capitols, who will visit Mercy Health Arena with a 20-17-3 record. The Caps, riding a two-game winning streak following a pair of victories over Youngstown last weekend, are in fourth place in the Eastern Conference with 42 points, five behind third-place Dubuque and eight behind Muskegon.
“They’ve been on fire the last few weeks and they’re coming off a sweep of Youngstown,” Hamilton said about Madison. “They are creeping up in the standings.”
[3]Quinn Hutson fifth in league in scoring
Lumberjacks forward Quinn Hutson scored two goals against Team USA last Friday, and is reaching the top of the league’s scoring chart.
Hutson is currently fifth in the league’s scoring race with 22 goals and 27 assists for 49 points. He is only seven points behind league leader Stephen Halliday of Dubuque.
“He’s got an unbelievable shot,” Coach Hamilton said about Hutson. “That’s where it all starts with him. He has an NHL release and he’s able to hit his spots. He’s a shoot-first kind of guy, and he’s on a damned good line (with high scorers Phil Tresca and Joey Larson). They all feed off each other.”
Three other Lumberjacks are also among the league’s top 20 point producers. Tresca is 17th with 21 goals and 18 assists for 39 points, Ben Strinden is 18th with 18 goals and 21 assists for 39 points, and Jack Williams is 19th with 9 goals and 28 assists for 37 points.