MUSKEGON – Muskegon Lumberjacks defenseman Noah Ellis looked pretty pumped as he walked toward the locker room after Monday’s playoff opener, and shouted out for everyone to hear, “Ice hockey is fun!”

The Jacks certainly looked like they were having fun all night, dominating the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders 6-0 at Mercy Health Arena in the first game of the 2-of-3 first round playoff series.

Forward Owen Mehlenbacher led the way with two goals while goalie Chase Clark recorded the shutout.

Game 2 will be Tuesday night at home, and another Jacks victory would eliminate Cedar Rapids and send the Jacks into a second-round series against Dubuque.

It was exactly the type of game that Lumberjacks Coach Mike Hamilton has been waiting for, and it came at the perfect time, because momentum is priceless in the Clark Cup playoffs.

The Jacks have been trending well lately, with four wins in their last five regular season games, but Monday’s performance topped all of their recent efforts.

“I thought we played a complete game,” Hamilton said. “At the end of the day that was a full 60-minute game. We went 3-for-3 on the power play and the penalty kill was 100 percent. You’re going to go far in playoffs when you do that well in those categories.”

Hamilton said his team has to be cautious, however, because Cedar Rapids will throw everything it has into Tuesday’s game, with elimination just one loss away.

“The toughest thing to do is close a team out,” the coach said. “That team is desperate, and their backs are against the wall. They have to figure how to match the intensity and come out and get a W tomorrow.”

The Jacks collected their first shutout since January, with Clark stopping all 31 shots he faced to keep the RoughRiders off the scoreboard.

It was Muskegon’s fourth shutout of the season, and the first for Clark since he joined the team in late January. He also had one early in the season when he played for Tri-City.

“In the past three or four games I have found my game and now I feel really comfortable out there,” Clark said. “It feels amazing to have a perfect game. It was huge for the team to get on these guys early and dominate. We have lots of momentum now and we are just going to keep it going.”

The Lumberjacks’ special teams, which have been a concern most of the season until recent weeks, was clicking on all gears. Muskegon was 3-for-3 on the power play while Cedar Rapids was 0-for-5.

The Lumberjacks’ biggest strength all season has been their offensive depth, and they showed it off again, with five different players finding the net.

Mehlenbacher scored the first and last goals, with Phil Tresca, Quinn Hutson, Jack Williams and Ellis each scoring once.

“We all pulled together and everybody was firing on full cylinders and you can’t ask for more than that,” Mehlenbacher said. “Every line was going and every player was on a roll.”

Mehlenbacher scored the only goal of the first period at the 14:52 mark when he chipped in a rebound from close range on a power play.

The Jacks went up 4-0 after two periods after getting goals from Tresca (6:27), Hutson (13:26) and Williams on the power play (17:33).

Noah Ellis scored with a long shot from the point at 9:40 of the third period, then Mehlenbacher capped of the night with his second power play goal at 14:30.

The Lumberjacks outshot Cedar Rapids 40-31.

Bruno Bruveris, the RoughRiders starting goalie, played two periods and stopped 23 of 27 shots. Connor Halsey played the third period and stopped 11 of 13 shots.