LocalSportsJournal.com
CHICAGO – The Muskegon Lumberjacks did all they could to avoid playing in the first round of the USHL Clark Cup playoffs on Monday, but other teams around the league failed to do their part.
The Lumberjacks closed out the regular season on Saturday with a three-goal third period as they rallied to a 4-2 win over the Chicago Steel on the road.
Muskegon needed losses by Youngstown, Dubuque and Madison in order to earn a first-round bye but each won their games to remain ahead of the Jacks.
Muskegon finished the season with a solid 38-16-8 record, which was good for 84 points.
The Lumberjacks now will only have one day to prepare for their best-of-3 first round series against the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders which is slated to start at 7:00 p.m. on Monday.
The Steel opened the scoring with a goal from Aidan Dyer in the first period. Chicago outshot the Jacks 10-5 during the first 20 minutes of play.
Muskegon tied the contest early in the second period with a power play goal from Tynan Lawrence. The tie didn’t last long as Chicago retook the lead with a goal from Chris Reiniger.
The Steel led 2-1 heading into the third period while outshooting Muskegon 20-18 through 40 minutes of action.
The Lumberjacks finished the regular season scoring three unanswered goals to close out the season with a win.
Ivan Ryabkin (4:19), David Deputy (5:11), and Xavier Veilleux (18:49) each found the back of the net for Muskegon.
The Lumberjacks managed to outshoot Chicago 32-25 as Shikhabutdin Gadzhiev stopped 23-of-25 shots faced.
