The Muskegon Lumberjacks are headed to the USHL Eastern Conference finals after a breathtaking 8-5 series-clinching victory over the Dubuque Fighting Saints on Sunday in Iowa.

The Jacks led 3-0 after one period and 5-2 after two, then watched Dubuque score three unanswered goals in the third period to tie the game.

Rookie forward Tyler Hotson turned out to be the hero, scoring the game-winning goal for the Lumberjacks at 12:34 of the third period. Quinn Hutson and Ben Strinden put the cherry on top with two late open-net goals.

Scoring the game-winning goal was a great moment for Hotson, the first-year Lumberjack whose playing time has been hit-and-miss through a learning season.

“He probably had five or six shifts all night,” Lumberjacks Coach Mike Hamilton said about Hotson, who had seven goals in the regular season. “For him to sit there and be ready and come in at a crucial time and do that was huge.”

The victory gave the red-hot Jacks a 2-0 sweep of the Eastern Conference semifinal series and a berth in the conference finals.

“We made a lot of mistakes in the third period,” Hamilton said. “We lost a little bit of discipline. We were over-excited. But we didn’t fold and we didn’t panic when they made it a fight.

“It could have turned ugly. If we lose that game after being up 5-1, the series is probably over. But we had the guts to dig deep and find a way to get it done.”

The Jacks will open play in the conference finals on Friday night, either at home if their opponent is Madison, or on the road if they play Chicago.

Madison, the fifth seed in the conference, stunned first-place Chicago in Game 1 of the other semifinal series. Game 2 is Monday night.

Muskegon’s two-game sweep of Dubuque was almost as stunning. Dubuque finished in second place in the Eastern Conference in the regular season, 14 points ahead of the third-place Lumberjacks.

But the way the Jacks have roared into the playoffs – with four straight impressive wins – the regular season is long forgotten.

The Jacks quickly dismantled Cedar Rapids in their first round series, 6-0 and 6-1, then beat Dubuque on Friday 4-3 in Muskegon before winning another breathtaker on Sunday.

The Jacks gained an early advantage in the first period, collecting goals from Owen Mehlenbacher, Quinn Hutson and Ben Strinden to take a 3-0 lead at the first break.

Dubuque got on the board with a goal by Nikita Borodayenko just 54 seconds into the second period, then the Jacks struck again with another goal from Hutson at 11:02, and the first from Hotson at 14:01. to take a 5-1 lead.

Ryan Beck scored for Dubuque at 15:64 of the second period, and Muskegon led 5-2 headed into the third.

But a team as talented as Dubuque was not going to go down easy.

The Fighting Saints clicked in with two quick goals in the third, the first from Jackson Hallum at 4:41 and another from Beck just 10 seconds later.

Dubuque tied the score when Connor Kurth found the net at 10:52 of the third.

But the Jacks, who gave up a two-goal lead to Dubuque before winning on Friday, once again pulled themselves together and gutted out the win.

Hotson got the game-winner at 12:34, his second goal of the night.

“(Phil) Tresca was coming up on the wing and just got the puck to me,” Hotson said. “I was just driving the net, got a nice pass and gut a back-hander in.

“It was awesome. It’s a playoff series, Dubuque is a great team, and we were able to get through diversity and come back. It’s super exciting. I’m looking forward to the next round.”

Luckily Hotson’s game-winning goal held up. He made the situation more complicated than it had to be when he celebrated his goal a bit too much and was called for unsportsmanlike conduct. That gave Dubuque a two-minute power play and a chance to tie the score again – but the Jacks killed off the penalty and kept the lead.

“He has a lot to learn about being over-excited,” Hamilton said with a laugh.

Dubuque pulled its goalie for an extra attacker, and the Jacks got empty-net goals from Hutson and Strinden to put the Saints out of their misery.

Lumberjacks goalie Chase Clark earned his fourth straight playoff victory, stopping 41 of 46 shots. The Jacks won despite being outshot 46-27.