MUSKEGON – The USHL’s Eastern Conference has been a bit of a merry-go-round this season, at least at the top of the standings.
For the first few months the Chicago Steel were dominant and had an iron grip on first place. But the Steel hit a slump in January and February and slipped a bit.
That left the door open for the Lumberjacks, who went on a long hot streak between mid-November and mid-February, climbed all the way up from last place and having first place to themselves for a couple of days.
Lately the Jacks have slowed down, winning only three of their last 10 games and falling out of the race for first place, at least for the moment.
The latest team to hit high gear is Dubuque, which has won its last seven games and shot to the top of the conference standings after a so-so start to the season.
[1]Now it’s the Jacks’ job to slow the Fighting Saints down and get a few very needed victories of their own.
Dubuque will come to town to play the Jacks on Friday and Saturday night at Mercy Health Arena. The games will be crucial for the Jacks if they hope to remain in a position to move up in the standings or avoid falling further down.
Muskegon is currently 25-17-6, good for 56 points in the standings. The third-place Jacks are 11 points behind first-place Dubuque and 10 points behind second-place Chicago. A team gets two points for a victory, so the Jacks need quite a few of them in their last 14 games of the regular season to get back near the top.
The Lumberjacks also have to keep one eye on the rear-view mirror, because several teams have crept up in the standings and are challenging them for third place. Youngstown is now only three points behind Muskegon while Madison is six points behind.
“That’s our division,” said Lumberjacks Coach Mike Hamilton. “Dubuque has always been a good team, and they made some moves at the trade deadline that seemed to ignite them. But we always felt they were one of the best teams in the league.
“Now Youngstown and Madison are nipping at our heels. Any team in the conference can beat you on any night.”
The Jacks should be safe when it comes to making the playoffs. Six out of the eight teams in the conference quality, and Muskegon is 13 points ahead of Cedar Rapids, the seventh-place squad.
But the Jacks were hoping to finish first or second, to earn a first-round bye in the playoffs. The third-through sixth-place teams will have to compete in the first round.
Despite the recent slump, Hamilton said his team has been showing signs of playing better lately.
That was particularly true on Saturday night, when the Jacks showed a lot of fight against the elite Team USA 18-Under squad. They overcame a 2-0 deficit and only trailed 4-3 at the end of the second period, before Team USA pulled away and won 8-4 with a big third period.
“I think we’re trending in the right direction,” Hamilton said. “Now we’re trying to figure out how to get better in the win column. We have lots of obstacles to fight through.”
Jacks hit with goalie shortage
The first big obstacle for the Jacks in their current six-game homestand came last weekend against the 18-Unders, and the two-game series produced two 8-4 losses. That extended Muskegon’s losing streak to three games and their home losing streak to four.
The series was costly in more ways than one, because it seriously depleted the Lumberjacks’ goalie supply for this weekend’s games.
In Friday’s loss, a Team USA player plowed into Lumberjacks goalie Aleksandr Kuleshov, who left the game with what the team is calling an upper-body injury. His availability is doubtful for this weekend’s games against Dubuque, but there’s a chance he could be available if his recovery goes well over the next few days, Hamilton said.
[2]“I think he’s going to try to skate today,” Hamilton said. “It will have to be a last-minute decision.”
The goaltending situation worsened on Saturday night when Chase Clark, who got the start and was playing well, jumped into a multi-player brawl with the 18-Unders near the Lumberjacks’ net.
He received a game misconduct, which meant that backup Cameron Korpi had to come into the game and play cold. The game was tied 2-2 when Clark was ejected, and the 18-Unders outscored the Jacks 6-2 the rest of the way.
To make matters worse, Clark received a suspension from the league and will be unavailable for this weekend’s games against Dubuque.
So Korpi, a rookie who has performed well in limited ice time this season, is likely to be the starting goalie in both games against Dubuque.
Korpi has played in 13 games this season with a record of 4-4-3 with a respectable 3.83 goals against average.
“He’s shown that he’s capable of winning in this league, and we hope he steps up,” Hamilton said about Korpi.
The Lumberjacks have called up goalie Thomas Kiesewetter, a draft pick affiliate, to serve as the backup this weekend if needed.
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