MUSKEGON – Luke Buss’ debut with the Muskegon Lumberjacks happened at the perfect time, after all.

The Jacks signed the talented Buss in the offseason and were counting on him being in the lineup for Game 1.

He ended up missing the first seven games, however, after a prior knee injury flared up during training camp.

Buss was finally ready to play last Saturday when the Jacks hosted Dubuque, and his return was a huge success.

The Jacks needed some extra firepower with forwards Owen Mehlenbacher and Jack Reimann sitting out with suspensions, and they also needed help on their penalty kill unit, which has struggled at times in recent weeks.

The speedy Buss filled the void in both respects, scoring a shorthanded goal in the first period, then assisting Cody Croal with another shorthander later in the period, propelling the Jacks to an exciting 6-2 victory.

“It was awesome,” said Buss, who will lead the Jacks into a two-game series in Madison this weekend. “It was my first game back and I was really excited to be in the lineup again and with the team. It was great to get the win, as well.”

“We talked about Buss coming back and being available with that speed,” Lumberjacks coach Mike Hamilton said after the game. “That can be deadly, and he does some special things.”

This week Hamilton mentioned the possibility of putting Buss and two other speedy forwards – Croal and Reimann – on the same line, to create havoc for opponents.

Buss endorsed that idea.

“Any time you can put guys together who have a lot of speed, it can work out really well,” he said.

Buss broke into high level junior hockey last season with the Vernon Vipers of the British Columbia Hockey League and had an immediate impact, collecting 16 goals and 20 assists in 48 games.

Several USHL teams were interested in his services this season, including the Jacks, who spent time courting him and used a draft pick last summer to make sure no league rivals could grab him.

Hamilton said he would have been a sure-fire first round draft pick if USHL teams really believed he was willing to make the jump to the league.

Buss was originally planning on returning to the Vipers, but the Jacks kept working on him and he finally decided to come to Muskegon, which is much closer to his home and family in Columbus, Ohio.

“I did have plans to go back to BC, then during the draft I started getting calls from USHL teams, and at first I didn’t think too much about it,” Buss said. “Then I had more talks with Muskegon and thought it would be a great fit for me.”

Buss’ mom was in attendance last Saturday to see him play his first regular season game for the Jacks, and his parents will see him play a lot more this year.

“This is only like a five-hour drive from Columbus,” he said. “They will be able to come to a lot more games. When I was in BC it was hard for them. It’s on the other side of the continent. I think it’s actually three flights to get there.”

Jacks fans would have gotten a look at Buss much sooner if his nagging knee injury had not flared up during training camp.

The Lumberjacks decided it was best to sideline him for a while and have him work on strengthening the knee, in the hope it wouldn’t become a season-long issue.

“I’ve been dealing with it for a couple years now,” Buss said about the injury. “It started bothering me in camp, and I felt I could not play at the level I wanted to, so we took some precautionary steps so I could heal up and be healthy the rest of the season.

“I spent about 2-3 weeks off the ice just doing strength exercises, then I started skating little by little, and it eventually progressed to me practicing with the team and playing.

“My knee felt great in the first game. I got through without any pain. It’s just something I’m going to have to care of every day so I can be 100 percent.”

Being from Columbus, it’s not surprising that Buss is an Ohio State football fan, and he’s well aware that he will be in enemy territory here in Muskegon when the big Michigan-Ohio State game rolls around in late November.

He’s honest about his Buckeye loyalty, despite the teasing he’s already endured.

“I’ve already been getting a lot of remarks, being from Columbus,” he said. “Nathan McBrayer (a Jacks defenseman) is also from Columbus, so we’re kind of together on that. This is definitely enemy territory.”

When asked if he would refrain from wearing Buckeye red around town the week of the big game, Buss did not hedge.

“I can’t make that promise,” he said.