Muskegon Lumberjacks
| Muskegon Lumberjacks | |
|---|---|
 | |
| City | Muskegon, Michigan |
| League | USHL |
| Conference | Eastern |
| Founded | 2010 |
| Home arena | L. C. Walker Arena |
| Colors |
Black, Vegas Gold, Red, White |
| Owner(s) | Chris Ferraro, Peter Ferraro, Ron Friedman, Joel Friedman |
| General manager | John Vanbiesbrouck |
| Head coach | John LaFontaine (2016-17) |
| Franchise history | |
| 2010–present | Muskegon Lumberjacks |
The Muskegon Lumberjacks are a Tier I junior ice hockey team in the Eastern Conference of the United States Hockey League. They play in Muskegon, Michigan, at L.C. Walker Arena. The Lumberjacks replaced the International Hockey League franchise (IHL) of the same name, which relocated to Evansville, Indiana, at the end of the 2009–10 IHL season. The team was owned by Lou and Josh Mervis under a company named Blue Ox Hockey.[1] but was sold to 3 former NHL players: brothers Chris and Peter Ferraro and John Vanbiesbrouck in June 2013.[2]
Inaugural season
The Jacks won three straight games from November 5 through November 9, the night on which Matt Berry registered the first hat trick in team history in a 5–3 win over the Chicago Steel in Bensenville, Illinois. The Lumberjacks clinched a Clark Cup Playoff berth with a victory over the Steel at the L.C. Walker Arena on April 8.
Lumberjacks forwards Ryan Misiak and Matt Berry and defenseman Alexx Privitera were named to the CCM Eastern Conference All-Star team. Ryan Misiak led the Jacks in both points and assists with 58 and 43, respectively. Berry led the club wiith 25 goals. Micki Mihailovich set the team mark for penalty minutes with 264 and fellow defenseman Carter Foguth led the club with a +10 plus/minus rating.[3]
In the playoffs, the fifth-seeded Muskegon Lumberjacks swept Team USA in the first round best-of-three series, then lost a best-of-five series 1–3 to the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders. After missing significant time in the regular season because of injury, Matt DeBlouw led the team with eight points (3 goals and 5 assists) during the Jacks' six playoff games and also led the club with a +6 plus/minus rating. Matt Berry led the team with four goals.[4]
The Jacks were one of the last five teams standing during the 2010–11 Clark Cup Playoffs. After sweeping Team USA on the road in a best-of-three first-round series, the Jacks pressed the top-seeded Cedar Rapids RoughRiders, but fell in four games in a best-of-five second-round series.[5]
2011–12 season
Muskegon rebounded from an 0–3–0 start by winning six out of seven games from October 30 through November 18. The run put the Lumberjacks at 7–6–0 but a pair of losses to eventual Anderson Cup champion Green Bay started a 2–9–2 slump, which led to the dismissal of head coach/GM Kevin Patrick on January 13. Patrick was replaced by 15-year NHL veteran and 2003 Stanley Cup winner Jim McKenzie, who used to be part of the player development staff with TPH Thunder AAA Hockey.
In late January the Lumberjacks hosted the inaugural USHL/NHL Top Prospects Game at L.C. Walker Arena, featuring the league's best talent eligible for the 2012 NHL Draft. Muskegon was represented by Matt DeBlouw, Mark Yanis and Czech winger Adam Chlapik. Team East beat Team West 5–3 in a game that set a record for event viewership on FastHockey.com; it was called by Lumberjacks broadcaster Matt Gajtka and Youngstown Phantoms play-by-play man Bart Logan.
On February 25 the Jacks rallied from 3–0 down in the first period to beat second-place Indiana 6–5 in a shootout at home. Dakota Klecha scored the franchise's first hat trick in nearly a year in a 6–1 win over the National Under-17 Team on March 17. Klecha's first goal tied a USHL record for fastest goal from the start of a game, as it came just seven seconds into the first period.
Muskegon capped a three-game homestand with a 4–3 shootout victory over Green Bay on March 24, handing the Gamblers just their fourth road loss of the season. Defenseman Rasmus Bengtsson, a second round pick of the Florida Panthers in the 2011 NHL Draft, scored the shootout winner, and goalie John Keeney, acquired from the Omaha Lancers in an October trade, stopped all four Green Bay attempts in the tiebreaker after making 36 saves through regulation and overtime.
Although the team finished last in the Eastern Conference with a 17-35-8 record, the offseason began on a very positive note as five players with Lumberjacks ties were taken in the 2012 NHL Draft in Pittsburgh. Michigan State recruit Matt DeBlouw was the Jacks' only active player to be drafted; he went to the Calgary Flames in the seventh round. Two Lumberjacks from the team's inaugural USHL season also heard their names called (Brendan Woods - Carolina, Jaycob Megna - Anaheim), as did two of Muskegon's future prospects (Adam Gilmour - Minnesota, Doyle Somerby - New York Islanders).
2015-2016
The team was able to tie with the Chicago Steel with 61 points each, landing them and seventh in the Eastern Conference and an overall of twelfth.
The star of the season was Rem Pitlick, leading the team and league with 89 points (46 Goals and 43 Assists) in 56 games - a 1.59 points per game average. The star center originally played for the Waterloo Blackhawks, but never stood out among the crowd in 2014-2015. Pitlick made Lumberjacks history by surpassing Matheson Iacopelli's(2013-2014) franchise singe season goal scoring record on March 24, 2016, and broke Griffen Molino's 2014-2015 single season scoring record of 69 by 20 points. Rem was also the first Muskegon Lumberjack to win an award as the USHL's 2015-2016 Player of the Year and Forward of the Year, and being only the 22nd player to accept both. Also, being the fourth person in USHL history to score over forty goals in a single season. Other accomplishments include: 5 time CCM Forward of the year, 2015-2016 USA Dave Tyler Junior Player of the Year, named to the All-USHL first team, ranked 93rd on the NHL Central Scouting North American Skater List, named to World Junior A Challenge U.S. Select Team, the leader of goals in the USHL 2015-2016, leader of assists in the USHL, leader in points in the USHL 2015-2016http://www.ushl.com/view/#/player?playerId=461&season=48.
Roster
As of April 10, 2016.[6]
| # | S/P/C | Player | Pos | Ht | Wt | DoB | Hometown | Previous team | College commitment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 |  |
Eliot, MitchMitch Eliot | D | 6' 0" | 190 lb | 1998-02-06 | Grosse Pointe, Michigan | HoneyBaked U18 (Midget AAA) | Michigan State |
| 3 |  |
Kallen, NateNate Kallen | D | 6' 0" | 185 lb | 1997-11-05 | San Diego, California | Belle Tire U18 (Midget AAA) | Ferris State |
| 4 |  |
Lillibridge, GrahamGraham Lillibridge | D | 5' 8" | 145 lb | 1999-01-29 | Geneva, Illinois | Chicago Mission U16 (Midget AAA) | Yale |
| 5 | |
Brickey, ScooterScooter Brickey | D | 6' 3" | 183 lb | 1999-05-27 | Burtchville, Michigan | Little Caesars U18 (Midget AAA) | Western Michigan |
| 7 | |
Gabriele, GrantGrant Gabriele | D | 6' 2" | 171 lb | 1997-04-17 | Brighton, Michigan | Chicago (USHL) | Western Michigan |
| 8 |  |
Berzolla, ZachZach Berzolla | D | 6' 2" | 185 lb | 1998-05-28 | Howell, New Jersey | New Jersey Junior Titans 18U (Midget AAA) | Colorado College |
| 9 |  |
Hanson, BoBo Hanson | D | 6' 2" | 198 lb | 1997-11-13 | Boise, Idaho | Colorado Rampage U16 (Midget AAA) | None |
| 10 | |
Daschke, DerekDerek Daschke | D | 6' 2" | 190 lb | 1998-01-06 | Troy, Michigan | Cedar Rapids (USHL) | Western Michigan |
| 12 | |
Sladic, JohnJohn Sladic | F | 5' 9" | 160 lb | 1998-01-22 | Novi, Michigan | Tri-City (USHL) | None |
| 13 | |
Adams, CollinCollin Adams | F | 5' 9" | 179 lb | 1998-04-24 | Brighton, Michigan | HoneyBaked U16 (Midget AAA) | North Dakota |
| 14 | |
Kaiser, BobbyBobby Kaiser | F | 6' 1" | 183 lb | 1997-05-09 | Grosse Pointe Park, Michigan | Tri-City (USHL) | Western Michigan |
| 15 | |
Palecco, DanteDante Palecco | F | 5' 11" | 185 lb | 1998-04-18 | Whippany, New Jersey | Long Island Gulls 16U (Midget AAA) | Yale |
| 16 |  |
Pitlick, RemRem Pitlick | F | 5' 10" | 195 lb | 1997-04-02 | Plymouth, Minnesota | Waterloo (USHL) | Minnesota |
| 17 |  |
Coleman, JakeJake Coleman | F | 5' 7" | 168 lb | 1997-04-29 | Moon Township, Pennsylvania | Keystone (NAHL) | Robert Morris |
| 18 | |
DiGrande, DanielDaniel DiGrande | F | 5' 11" | 185 lb | 1997-08-05 | Macomb, Michigan | Springfield (NAHL) | None |
| 19 |  |
DeMontis, RobbieRobbie DeMontis | F | 5' 10" | 165 lb | 1996-02-17 | Kleinburg, Ontario | The Hill Academy U16 (Midget AAA) | Yale |
| 20 |  |
Paulovic, MatejMatej Paulovic | F | 6' 3" | 205 lb | 1995-01-13 | Topolčany, Slovakia | Peterborough (OHL) | None |
| 21 |  |
Michaud, LucasLucas Michaud | F | 5' 11" | 205 lb | 1997-06-12 | South Portland, Maine | Chicago (USHL) | Maine |
| 22 |  |
Drevitch, LoganLogan Drevitch | F | 5' 10" | 165 lb | 1998-04-14 | Middleborough, Massachusetts | Boston Bandits (EHL) | Merrimack |
| 23 |  |
Gerard, CharlieCharlie Gerard | F | 6' 0" | 174 lb | 1995-11-19 | Rocky River, Ohio | Fargo (USHL) | Minnesota State |
| 24 | |
Irvine, TylerTyler Irvine | F | 5' 11" | 170 lb | 1996-05-15 | Livonia, Michigan | Cedar Rapids (USHL) | Merrimack |
| 25 | |
Del Gaizo, AnthonyAnthony Del Gaizo | F | 5' 10" | 185 lb | 1998-01-31 | Basking Ridge, New Jersey | New Jersey (EHL) | None |
| 26 | |
Klack, ChrisChris Klack | F | 5' 11" | 160 lb | 1997-06-03 | Georgetown, Ontario | Lincoln (USHL) | Clarkson |
| 27 | |
Carabelli, GiovanniGiovanni Carabelli | F | 6' 0" | 195 lb | 1999-01-12 | Shelby Township, Michigan | Oakland Jr. Grizzlies U16 (Midget AAA) | None |
| 29 | |
Daccord, JoeyJoey Daccord | G | 6' 3" | 205 lb | 1996-08-18 | North Andover, Massachusetts | Boston (USPHL) | Arizona State |
| 30 | |
Cooley, DevinDevin Cooley | G | 6' 5" | 178 lb | 1997-05-25 | Los Gatos, California | San Jose Jr. Sharks 18U (Midget AAA) | None |
References
- ↑ http://www.mlive.com/news/muskegon/index.ssf/2010/02/its_official_lumberjacks_hocke.html
- ↑ http://muskegon.wzzm13.com/news/news/145283-muskegon-lumberjacks-hire-new-owners-coach
- ↑ http://www.pointstreak.com/prostats/scoreboard.html?leagueid=49&seasonid=5967
- ↑ http://www.pointstreak.com/prostats/scoreboard.html?leagueid=49
- ↑ http://www.mlive.com/lumberjacks/index.ssf/2011/04/muskegon_lumberjacks_playoff_r.html
- ↑ "Team". Muskegon Lumberjacks. Retrieved April 10, 2016.
External links
Sports teams based in Michigan | ||
|---|---|---|
| Baseball | | |
| Basketball |
| |
| Football |
| |
| Hockey |
| |
| Roller derby | ||
| Soccer |
| |
| NCAA Division I | ||
| NCAA Division II | ||