By Dave Hart
LocalSportsJournal.com

MUSKEGON – It has been quite a start for Drew Stewart in his Muskegon Lumberjacks career, especially in front of the home fans at Trinity Health Arena.

Stewart had a natural hat trick two weeks ago at the Lumberjacks’ home opener.

He added to his resume on Friday night by scoring the game-winning goal with just 18 seconds left in overtime to propel the host Jacks to a 3-2 win over the Omaha Lancers.

The Lumberjacks have now won four in a row and have improved their record to 8-3-3 on the season, good for 19 points and third place in the USHL’s Eastern Conference standings. Muskegon is just one point behind second-place Madison and three behind the first-place Dubuque Fighting Saints.

The Lumberjacks will look to extend their winning streak on Saturday when they host the Lancers. Faceoff is set for 6:05 p.m.

“He (Stewart) has brought a lot of life to our team, and he has fit right in,” said Lumberjacks coach Parker Burgess. “He was born to be a Lumberjacks just the way he plays and competes and the young man that he is.”

Muskegon put some pressure on the Lancers early on, but many of the shots were wide of the net.

The Lumberjacks also had a chance to open the scoring with a power play goal at the 7:29 mark of the first period, but Stewart hit the right post on an open side of the net.

The Lancers eventually opened the scoring with a goal from Hunter Ramos 15:40 into the first period.

The Jacks trailed 1-0 through 20 minutes and were outshot 9-8 despite having many near chances that went wide of the net as well as having great puck control.

The second period remained scoreless throughout most of the frame with the Lumberjacks getting the lone power-play opportunity.

Late in the middle frame, Carter Sanderson stole the puck from Lancers’ goaltender Kam Hendrickson and centered the puck in front of a wide-open net. Davis Borozinskis found the puck and snapped it home at the 19:00 mark for the Lumberjacks to tie the contest heading into the third period.

Muskegon had most of the momentum during the second period, outshooting the Lancers 16-7.

“For the most part, I liked our puck possession,” Burgess said. “I liked our routes and commitment to play without the puck. There is a learning lesson on letting their goalie get comfortable because the shots are a tad off. It allows them to hang around a bit. I am hoping (Saturday) we come with a more killer instinct mentality and not allow their goalie to get comfortable.”

The Jacks took their first lead of the contest as Xavier Veilleux scored his first goal of the season, unassisted 5:58 into the third period on a shot between the circles that went through the five-hole. Veilleux, who is a sixth-round NHL draft pick of the New York Islanders, has now scored four goals and has 36 assists for 40 points in 80 games for the Lumberjacks.

Omaha tied the game 2-2 at the 9:19 mark of the third period as Ramos scored his second goal of the night.

The game remained tied through 60 minutes of play, forcing a three-on-three overtime period for five minutes. Muskegon was not served a penalty throughout regulation.

“In those tight games, if you take a bad penalty they can really bite you in the butt,” Burgess said. “I was proud of our discipline, and I would love to see us recreate that on a consistent basis.”

Stewart closed out the contest in overtime with just 18 seconds remaining, taking a pass from Chase Stefanek and finding the back of the net.

“I feel great just to help contribute to the team’s win,” Stewart said. “It is easy to play when you have guys setting you up. My teammates make my job easier, and it makes me happier to play.”

Stewart is off to a solid start with four goals and four assists for eight total points in 13 games for the Lumberjacks.

The Jacks outshot Omaha by a 35-29. Muskegon goaltender Stephen Peck earned the win in net for Muskegon by stopping 27-of-29 shots.