Lumberjacks’ winning streak ended in an ugly 9-3 loss to elite Team USA Under-18 squad on the road

LocalSportsJournal.com

The Muskegon Lumberjacks’ three-game winning streak came to an end on Wednesday in an ugly 9-3 loss to the elite Team USA Under-18 squad at USA Hockey Arena in Plymouth, Michigan.

The Lumberjacks fell to 6-3-1 on the season. They are tied for second place with Green Bay in the USHL’s Eastern Conference, five points behind first-place Chicago.

The Jacks will host Chicago on Friday and Saturday night in their first home games of the season. No tickets will be sold, due to the COVID-19 shutdown.

The game was competitive after one period, with Team USA leading 2-1. Luke Hughes and Sasha    Pastujov found the net for the home team, while Cam Berg scored his team-leading 11^th goal for the Lumberjacks.

The game collapsed in the second period when Team USA piled up five goals, from Ty Gallagher, Liam Gilmartin, Red Savage, Hughes and Dylan Duke. Muskegon got a  goal from Christophe Tellier, but trailed 7-2 headed into the third period.

Rhett Pitlick scored his third goal in two games for the Lumberjacks in the third period. Ty Murchison and Jeremy Wilmer wrapped up the scoring for Team USA.

The Lumberjacks’ goalies had a rough night, with Christian Stroever giving up 5 goals on 12 shots and Jan Skorpik surrendering 4 goals in 13 shots.

Surprisingly, Muskegon outshot Team USA 36-25.