By Ron Rop
Local Sports Journal
The first long road trip of the season comes up this weekend for the unbeaten Muskegon Lumberjacks.
Muskegon Lumberjack Chad McDonald leads the team with five points through the first three games.
On Friday night, Coach Jim McKenzie and his team will venture into Cedar Rapids for a United States Hockey League game against the Cedar Rapids Roughriders, who have won two of their first three games this season.
On Saturday night, the Jacks will head to Des Moines to battle the Buccaneers, who start the weekend 0-3-1.
Muskegon has received stellar goaltending from newcomer Kevin Lindskoug, who won his first two starts, has a 1.00 goals-against-average and a .969 save percentage.
Offensively, Muskegon has been led by a trio of players with three goals each – defenseman Chris Leibinger and forwards Chad McDonald and Tyler Heinonen. McDonald also has two assists and leads the team with five points.
The Lumberjacks’ lineup will be bolstered with the return of defenseman Rasmus Bengtsson, a second-round draft pick of the NHL’s Florida Panthers. Bengtsson missed the first three games due to the fact he was skating in the San Antonio Rampage (AHL) training camp.
One thing that has changed thus far is the Lumberjacks’ time spent in the penalty box. Through three games, the Jacks have 22 penalty minutes and are 15th in the league with 7.33 minutes per game.
Muskegon completes its three-game road trip against Team USA at 7 p.m. Tuesday. That game will be played in Ann Arbor.
Next weekend, the Jacks will host the Chicago Steel at 7:15 p.m. Friday before traveling to Chicago on Saturday for an 8 p.m. faceoff.
Muskegon defeated Chicago 3-1 in its first road game of the season.
