MUSKEGON – The good news is that the Muskegon Lumberjacks are done with the worst part of their very long, exhausting road swing.
Now the goal is for the Jacks to put a few more complete games together, and start winning more consistently, before the playoffs begin in a few weeks.
The Lumberjacks played three games in three nights in three different cities last weekend, and with a few bounces could have come away with three wins.
But they lost the overall battle of one-goal games, falling 4-3 to Dubuque on Friday and 6-5 to Cedar Rapids on Saturday, before bouncing back with a 3-2 victory in Green Bay on Sunday.
Rookie Jake Richard scored the winning goal in Green Bay at the 13:50 mark of the final period.
It was the same pattern as the weekend before, when the Jacks lost to Youngstown on Friday and Saturday but won on Sunday.
Like in the Youngstown series, Lumberjacks Coach Mike Hamilton said his team played well overall out west, but just couldn’t put together the complete effort necessary to get a few more wins in the very tight games.
“We played some good hockey,” Hamilton said. “The first period of the Dubuque game they gave it to us a little bit, but in the second and third period we were the better team. We had a little lapse in the second period in Cedar Rapids, but other than that we kind of carried the game.
“We’re doing a lot of good things, but it’s our inability to play a complete 60 minutes. It’s something we’re continuously talking about. We might get a bad call (from a referee) or have a break not go our way, and it seems to snowball on us. You’re not going to go too far in the playoffs if you’re not able to get through complete games.
“When you look at it, two goals separated us from getting six points for the weekend. It’s the little things, the little details. How do we turn those one-goal losses into one-goal wins? We’re trying to focus on details and be the best we can be.”
[1]Only one question remains for the Jacks in the standings
The Lumberjacks will play a pair of games in Plymouth, Michigan on Friday and Saturday against the Team USA 17-Under squad, with a good opportunity to get a couple of momentum-building wins.
But like Cedar Rapids and Green Bay, the 17-Unders will be hungry and dangerous, because they are tied with Cedar Rapids for the sixth and final playoff spot in the USHL’s Eastern Conference. Both teams have 57 points with just a handful of games remaining in the regular season.
The Jacks will travel to Chicago on April 22 to end their nine-game road swing, then will come home on April 23 to host Chicago in the final game of the regular season.
The only question that remains is whether the Jacks will finish in third or fourth place in the Eastern Conference.
Muskegon is currently 30-22-6 and in third place with 66 points. Youngstown is fourth with 63 points. Both teams have four games (eight possible points) remaining.
The third-place team will play the sixth-place team in the first round of the playoffs, while the fourth-place team will play the fifth-place team. Chicago and Dubuque, in first and second place, respectively, have earned first-round byes.
If the Jacks finish third they will likely play either Cedar Rapids or the 17-Unders in the first round. If they finish fourth, they will play a tough Madison squad (the fifth-place team) in the first round.
Either way, all of the first-round games will be in Muskegon, but the Jacks would rather finish third and get the lesser playoff opponent.
“I really think we would love to be in that three spot for a lot of different reasons,” Hamilton said.
[2]Clark has a good weekend in goal
The Lumberjacks rotating goalie situation continued over the weekend, with Chase Clark turning in the best performance.
Clark started on Friday in Dubuque and stopped 26 of 30 shots. Aleksandr Kuleshov started Saturday in Cedar Rapids and stopped 10 of 14 shots before he was replaced by Clark early in the second period.
Clark stopped 11 of 13 shots over the balance of the Dubuque game, then had 31 saves on 33 shots in Green Bay.
“I thought he played really well,” Hamilton said about Clark. “Right now he’s giving us the opportunity to win hockey games. On Friday I think he will get the start again. These are two huge games for us.”
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