LocalSportsJournal.com
The Muskegon Lumberjacks will be more than happy to return home to the L.C. Walker Arena for 14 of their next 21 games.
Road games have not been good for the Jacks lately. They have lost three of their last five away from home, including a 3-2 overtime loss on Tuesday
to the Youngstown Phantoms.
Muskegon, which came into the game unbeaten in its first six overtime games this season, dropped to 15-11-1, which is good for 31 points and a tie for fourth place in the USHL’s Eastern Conference.
The Lumberjacks will return home to face the Waterloo Black Hawks on Thursday and the Team USA Under-17 squad on Friday. Both games will start at 7:15 p.m.
Muskegon star forward Andrei Svechnikov, who missed the last three games while playing in an international tournament in Canada, forced the game to overtime by scoring the game-tying goal with 42 seconds left in regulation.
He finished with a goal and an assist.
Youngstown’s Austin Pooley scored the game-winning goal 4:06 into the overtime period.
The first period ended in a scoreless tie with the Lumberjacks outshooting Youngstown by an 8-6 margin.
Muskegon’s Will Smith opened the scoring with a goal 1:02 into the second period to give the Lumberjacks a 1-0 advantage. Svechnikov assisted on the tally.
The Phantoms tied the game 1-1 on a goal from Alex Esposito at the 11:34 mark of the second period
Youngstown grabbed a 2-1 lead 2:14 into the third period on a power play goal from Curtis Hall.
That led to Svechnikov’s dramatic game-tying goal in the final minute of regulation, followed by Pooley’s game-winning overtime goal for Youngstown.
Phantoms’ goaltender Britt League picked up the win, stopping 27 of 29 Lumberjack shots. Adam Brizgala took the loss in net for Muskegon, stopping 18 of 21 shots.
