By Dave Hart
LocalSportsJournal.com
MUSKEGON – The Muskegon Lumberjacks let three one-goal leads slip away on Saturday night against a good defensive minded Madison squad.
But the Lumberjacks kept their composure throughout the night and managed continue their current winning streak.
Joe Connor, who missed on a penalty shot moments earlier, found the back of the net at the 12:06 mark of the third period which looked like it would be the game-winning goal for Muskegon.
But the Capitols scored with just over a minute left in regulation to force overtime for the second straight night.
During the extra period, Connor found the back of the net at the 2:43 mark for Muskegon to finally seal a 4-3 victory over the Capitols at Trinity Health Arena.
The Jacks have now won three straight contests and are 11-7-2 on the season, good for 24 points and fourth place in the USHL’s Eastern Conference.
With the victory, the Lumberjacks leap frogged Madison in the standings with a slim one-point lead over their fifth-place opponent.
The Jacks will look to continue their success on Thursday when they play the Youngstown Phantoms at the American Cup, which will be played in Rochester, New York.
“It was a good effort and both teams did well in both games this weekend,” said Lumberjacks assistant coach Adam Morrison. “It was great to see our guys sticking to the game plan and staying positive on the bench.”
The Lumberjacks penalty kill was a huge difference in the contest as Muskegon killed off all seven of Madison’s power plays.
“It was great killing all of those off,” Morrison said. “No one was getting frustrated, we just stuck to the plan and kept pushing into the right direction.”
David Klee opened the scoring early for the Lumberjacks for the second night in a row with his fifth goal of the season 2:38 into the contest to give Muskegon a 1-0 lead.
Jack Galanek and Ty Henricks each recorded assists on the goal.
The Capitols responded with a goal 6:45 into the first period to tie the game as Sam Rice connected with an unassisted tally.
Muskegon killed off both Capitols’ power plays during the first period.
The Lumberjacks penalty kill continued their success during the middle period as they killed off two penalties early in the period.
Muskegon regained its advantage as Filip Nordberg notched his second goal of the season 13:35 into the second period to give the Jacks a 2-1 lead. Justin Solovey picked up an assist on the tally.
Madison quickly tied the game with a goal from James Hong at the 16:46 mark of the second period shortly after a flurry of penalties on both teams that did not result in any power plays for either squad.
The contest was tied 2-2 heading into the final period with the Capitols holding a 17-14 advantage in the shots on goal department.
The Lumberjacks had a great chance to take the lead again at the 8:59 mark of the third period when Connor was awarded a penalty shot after getting tripped on a breakaway attempt.
Connor failed to find the back of the net, keeping the contest deadlocked at 2-2 halfway through the final stanza.
Muskegon took the lead for the third time in the contest as Connor made up for his missed penalty shot, scoring his seventh goal of the season 12:06 into the third period to give the Jacks a 3-2 advantage.
Xavier Veilleux and Cody Croal were each credited for an assist on the goal.
The Capitols mounted their third comeback of the contest with just 1:09 remaining in regulation on a goal from Aiden Long. That tied the game at three goals apiece, setting up for another overtime.
Madison held a 27-22 advantage in shots on goal heading into overtime.
Connor found the back of the net for the second time in the contest at the 2:43 mark of the overtime period to propel the Jacks to victory.
“I thought it was a great team win and I wouldn’t have been able to do this without my teammates,” Connor said. “The group we have is so close and we just keep on building. With the connection we have I don’t think anybody is going to beat us all year.”
Muskegon recorded both shots on goal during the extra period.
Newcomer Stephen Peck earned the victory in his debut in net for Muskegon, stopping 24-of-27 shots faced.