MUSKEGON – So now we know the Muskegon Lumberjacks can definitely win on the road.
And we’re starting to understand just how deep the Jacks’ offense really is, with lots of players scoring goals.
Coach Mike Hamilton was not happy a few weeks ago when the Jacks lost a pair of games in Green Bay, and made it clear that he wanted better results away from the friendly confines of Trinity Health Arena.
Heading into their games in Madison last weekend, the Jacks were 3-1 at home but 1-3 on the road.
The Jacks responded to their coach’s challenge with two very impressive victories over the Capitols, 5-3 on Friday night and 4-3 on Saturday.
The victories left the Jacks with a three-game winning streak headed into Saturday’s home game against the Youngstown Phantoms, which will be their only game this weekend.
[1]Friday’s win was extra impressive, for several reasons.
The Lumberjacks were still playing without captain Owen Mehlehbacher and forward Jack Reimann, who were serving the final game of their suspensions, they had to compete in front of a big, loud crowd in Madison, and they trailed at two different points in the game.
The Capitols led 2-0 after one period and 3-2 after two, but Muskegon scored three unanswered goals in the third period to steal the win.
Jake Richard nailed his second goal of the night and fifth of the season just 3:01 into the third, David Hymovitch scored 36 seconds late, then rookie Sacha Boisvert finished things off with his fourth goal of the season at the 16:29 mark.
Four different players scored for the Jacks, with Nathan McBrayer finding the net in the second period.
“I thought we had a really good team game on Friday night, with some key pieces still out of the lineup, and still found a way to win,” Hamilton said. “It was exciting.
“We were down 2-0, but we really didn’t think the score was indicative of the game. We had lots of chances we didn’t finish on. We knew once we got that first goal and broke the ice they would have a hard time handling us.”
On Saturday the Jacks led 1-0 after one period, 2-1 after two, then held on in the third period when each team scored twice.
Four different players again scored for Muskegon – Luke Buss, Boisvert, Cody Croal and Mehlenbacher, in his first game back in the lineup.
“It was a good weekend,” Hamilton said. “We ended up even on special teams and we played more disciplined. It was dollar beer night on Friday and the place was packed with college students, but our guys kept their composure.”
The Jacks’ impressive scoring depth
A glance at the Lumberjacks’ scoring chart illustrates the kind of offensive balance they displayed in Madison.
Richard, Boisvert and Ethan Whitcomb currently lead the team with five goals apiece, Tyler Hotson has four and Hymovitch, Croal, McBrayer and Michael Callow each have three.
Hotson leads the team in point production with 12 (four goals and eight assists), Richard is second with 10 points and defenseman Gavin McCarthy is third with nine points – all on assists.
[2]Hotson is currently 10th in the league point race.
The Lumberjacks have scored 42 goals this season – second only to the Chicago Steel, who have 50 – in the 16-team USHL.
“That’s what we are, a deep team, and it should be an asset for us as we play night in and night out,” Hamilton said. “We can grind teams down and get good matchups as the games go on.
“We have nine forwards and three or four defensemen who should get over the 25-30 point mark. It’s fun to have a team like that where opponents can’t put a marker on just one forward line, and we have a very offensive blue line that’s already chipping in a lot of points.”
Callaghan has a five-game winning streak
Jacks goalie Conor Callaghan continued to play great in Madison, getting the victory each night and extending his winning streak to five straight games.
What’s even more impressive is that Callaghan’s winning streak has not come in consecutive games. He posted wins in home victories over Cedar Rapids on Oct. 7-8, missed the two games in Green Bay for personal reasons, then came back and got a win at home over Dubuque on Oct. 22 before his two successful outings in Madison.
Hamilton said Callaghan has a gift for making his biggest stops at key moments of games.
“He’s really good at getting that timely save,” the coach said. “It could be the last minute of the period, or when we’re down 2-0 and he’ll make a huge save to keep us in it.
“Conor believes in himself, works hard and handles it all the right way when it comes to having confidence and moving on from bad goals.”
[3]A welcome rematch with Youngstown
The Jacks are definitely a much different team than they were on Sept. 13 when they were blown out by Youngstown 9-2 in a home exhibition game.
Muskegon is currently 6-4-0 with 12 points in the standings, good for third place in the USHL’s Eastern Conference. They are only two points (one victory) behind Team USA and Chicago, who are tied for first.
Youngstown, meanwhile, is off to a rough start. The Phantoms are in last place in the conference with a 2-5-1 record and five points.
But Hamilton is not fooled by Youngstown’s record.
“They got off to a slow start record-wise, but we saw them in the preseason and they are really good,” the coach said. “They have high-end skill and depth.
“They kicked our butts in the preseason and we’re not going to be fooled by their record. We are excited to see them again with the growth that we’ve had since then.”
Boisvert headed for international competition
Boisvert, the Jacks’ impressive 16-year-old rookie, will be missing from the lineup the next two weeks while he’s competing in the 2022 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge, a tournament in British Columbia, Canada.
Boisvert was invited to play for one of three Canadian teams in the tournament, which will run from Nov. 5-12. Five teams of talented youngsters from other nations will also compete.
The World Under-17 Hockey Challenge is meant to showcase “the future stars of the game,” according to tournament officials.
Boisvert is off to a great start with the Lumberjacks, with five goals and three assists through 10 games.
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