MUSKEGON – Now comes the real test for the Muskegon Lumberjacks.

For the next five games, beginning on Friday and Saturday, the Jacks will have to compete without four extremely valuable players – leading goal scorers Jake Richard, Ethan Whitcomb and Gavin McCarthy, along with standout defenseman Nathan McBrayer.

The four were chosen to compete for the American squad in the 2022 World Junior A Challenge in Canada. The Lumberjacks dropped them off at an airport in Chicago on their way back from a game in Dubuque, Iowa on Sunday, and won’t be seeing them again for several weeks.

They will miss games against the Team USA 17-Under squad (Friday at home), Chicago (Saturday at home), the powerful Team USA 18-Under squad (next Wednesday), and two road games against the Youngstown Phantoms (Dec. 17-18).

Richard is 12^th in the USHL’s scoring race with 22 points (12 goals and 10 assists). McCarthy is the Lumberjacks’ second-leading point producer with 4 goals and 14 assists, while Whitcomb is third with 11 goals and 6 assists.

Forward Tyler Hotson was fifth on the team in scoring with 5 goals and 10 assists, but was traded last week.

Richard, McCarthy, Whitcomb and McBrayer are scheduled to be back with the Lumberjacks for home games on Dec. 30-31.

Players from most USHL teams were selected for the World Challenge, but Muskegon had the most.

‘It’s a huge challenge, a tough task,” said Lumberjacks head coach Mike Hamilton. “The reality is that you can’t replace them. This is where ‘next man up’ truly comes into play. We have a ton of great young players who are ready for and wanting an opportunity, and now it’s going to be presented to them. Our hand is forced in terms of playing guys in different places in the lineup, but it’s an opportunity for them to prove what they are capable of doing.”

Hamilton admitted that the loss of the four standouts comes at an extremely tough time, in terms of the schedule.

On Friday the Jacks will host the Team USA 17-Under squad. The two teams are currently tied for second place in the USHL’s Eastern Conference standings with 23 points.

On Saturday they will host the first-place Chicago Steel, a team they are 0-3 against so far this season.

Next Wednesday the Jacks will travel to Plymouth, Michigan to play the Team USA 18-Under squad, an elite, handpicked team of top junior players that routinely defeats USHL opponents.

On Dec. 16-17 they will visit the Youngstown Phantoms, a team that’s currently only three points behind the Lumberjacks in the standings.

“The schedule doesn’t work out well for it,” Hamilton said. “We’re going right into the teeth of the schedule. We can make excuses or we can step up and get a few wins and try to stay in the fight.”

Hamilton said the Lumberjacks have added one player, defenseman Owen Dyer, to help pick up the slack with the top players all gone. Dyer has been playing with a team in the North American Hockey League.

“This is one of those situations where a team can get better if it’s handled the right way,” Hamilton said. “Everybody is happy for them (the four players going to the tournament). Any time you are chosen to represent your country it’s awesome. And there are a lot of guys in our locker room equally excited about their opportunity.”

An up and down weekend

The Jacks had an interesting three games last weekend.

They traveled to Chicago to test themselves against the first-place Steel and came away with two losses, but showed a lot of fight.

On Friday the Jacks fell behind 3-1 early in the third period, then rallied to tie the score and force overtime with goals from Richard and Whitcomb.

They had a great opportunity to win in OT when they had a 4-on-3 power play, but a turnover allowed Chicago to steal the puck, score a short-handed goal and secure the victory.

“As happy as we were to come back and tie the game up, it hurt to give up the shorthanded goal,” Hamilton said. “It was just an unlucky moment when the puck jumped over a stick.”

On Saturday the Lumberjacks jumped out to a 3-1 lead with goals from Owen Mehlenbacher, Jack Richard and Jack Sparkes, but then lost their momentum and fell 7-4.

The good news came on Sunday, when Muskegon rebounded beautifully by finishing the western trip with a 7-4 victory in Dubuque. Cody Croal led the effort with a pair of goals.

“The guys dug really deep on Sunday,” Hamilton said. “Both teams were on their third game of the weekend and were running on fumes, and I’m really proud that we found a way to get the W.”

Hotson trade

A lot of people were surprised about last week’s trade that sent forward Tyler Hotson to the Sioux City Musketeers.

The second-year forward was getting much more playing time this season and was performing very well.

But Hotson is a Canadian citizen, USHL teams are only allowed to dress a limited number of non-Americans, so something had to give, according to Hamilton.

The other factor was that the Lumberjacks received a player in return that they are very excited about, although he may not play  in Muskegon until next season, the coach said.

The Jacks received forward Chase Stefanek, a young guy who apparently has a ton of potential.

The 16-year-old forward is currently playing prep school hockey at Mount St. Charles Academy in Rhode Island, the same school that promising Lumberjacks forward Sacha Boisvert played at.

Last season he had 24 goals and 47 assists.

“He’s not with us now – he’s still with his prep team – but I know we’re very excited to add a quality player for the future,” Hamilton said about Stefanek.