LocalSportsJournal.com
The Muskegon Lumberjacks jumped out to a quick lead on Thursday night, then held on for an exciting 6-5 victory over the Dubuque 
Fighting Saints at Mystique Ice Center in Dubuque, Iowa.
The victory gives the Lumberjacks a 4-2-1 record on the season, good for nine points in the USHL’s Eastern Conference standings. They are tied with Green Bay for second place with nine points, five points behind first-place Chicago.
The Jacks jumped out to a 3-1 lead after one period in Dubuque. Cameron Berg led things off with his team-leading eighth goal of the season. David Hymovitch and Danil Gushchin had Muskegon’s other goals, while Reggie Millette scored for the Fighting Saints.
Each team scored once in the second period, with Tanner Kelly finding the net for the Lumberjacks and Riley Stuart cashing in for Dubuque, leaving the score 4-2 Muskegon at the second break.
The third period was wild, with a total of five goals scored.
Dubuque’s Daniyal Dzhaniyev scored at 2:08 to make the score 4-3. Muskegon’s Alex Gagne answered at 7:12, putting the Jacks up two goals again. Owen Mehlenbacher added a goal for the Jacks at the 9:28 mark, giving the visitors a seemingly safe 6-3 lead.
Things got a little tense down the stretch, when Paul Fletcher and Stephen Halliday each scored for Dubuque, but it wasn’t quite enough to keep the Jacks from getting the win.
Christian Stoever got the win in net for Muskegon, stopping 31 of 36 shots. Overall the Fighting Saints outshot the Lumberjacks 36-23.
The Lumberjacks will play two more games in Dubuque this weekend, on Friday and Saturday night.
