Muskegon Lumberjacks

This article is about the USHL franchise founded in 2010. For the defunct CoHL/UHL/IHL franchise, see Muskegon Lumberjacks (1992–2010). For the original IHL franchise, see Muskegon Lumberjacks (1984–1992).
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 Michigan Eliot, MitchMitch Eliot D 6' 0" 190 lb 1998-02-06 Grosse Pointe, Michigan HoneyBaked U18 (Midget AAA) Michigan State
3 California Kallen, NateNate Kallen D 6' 0" 185 lb 1997-11-05 San Diego, California Belle Tire U18 (Midget AAA) Ferris State
4 Illinois Lillibridge, GrahamGraham Lillibridge D 5' 8" 145 lb 1999-01-29 Geneva, Illinois Chicago Mission U16 (Midget AAA) Yale
5 Michigan Brickey, ScooterScooter Brickey D 6' 3" 183 lb 1999-05-27 Burtchville, Michigan Little Caesars U18 (Midget AAA) Western Michigan
7 Michigan Gabriele, GrantGrant Gabriele D 6' 2" 171 lb 1997-04-17 Brighton, Michigan Chicago (USHL) Western Michigan
8 New Jersey Berzolla, ZachZach Berzolla D 6' 2" 185 lb 1998-05-28 Howell, New Jersey New Jersey Junior Titans 18U (Midget AAA) Colorado College
9 Idaho Hanson, BoBo Hanson D 6' 2" 198 lb 1997-11-13 Boise, Idaho Colorado Rampage U16 (Midget AAA) None
10 Michigan Daschke, DerekDerek Daschke D 6' 2" 190 lb 1998-01-06 Troy, Michigan Cedar Rapids (USHL) Western Michigan
12 Michigan Sladic, JohnJohn Sladic F 5' 9" 160 lb 1998-01-22 Novi, Michigan Tri-City (USHL) None
13 Michigan Adams, CollinCollin Adams F 5' 9" 179 lb 1998-04-24 Brighton, Michigan HoneyBaked U16 (Midget AAA) North Dakota
14 Michigan Kaiser, BobbyBobby Kaiser F 6' 1" 183 lb 1997-05-09 Grosse Pointe Park, Michigan Tri-City (USHL) Western Michigan
15 New Jersey Palecco, DanteDante Palecco F 5' 11" 185 lb 1998-04-18 Whippany, New Jersey Long Island Gulls 16U (Midget AAA) Yale
16 Minnesota Pitlick, RemRem Pitlick F 5' 10" 195 lb 1997-04-02 Plymouth, Minnesota Waterloo (USHL) Minnesota
17 Pennsylvania Coleman, JakeJake Coleman F 5' 7" 168 lb 1997-04-29 Moon Township, Pennsylvania Keystone (NAHL) Robert Morris
18 Michigan DiGrande, DanielDaniel DiGrande F 5' 11" 185 lb 1997-08-05 Macomb, Michigan Springfield (NAHL) None
19 Ontario DeMontis, RobbieRobbie DeMontis F 5' 10" 165 lb 1996-02-17 Kleinburg, Ontario The Hill Academy U16 (Midget AAA) Yale
20 Slovakia Paulovic, MatejMatej Paulovic F 6' 3" 205 lb 1995-01-13 Topolčany, Slovakia Peterborough (OHL) None
21 Maine Michaud, LucasLucas Michaud F 5' 11" 205 lb 1997-06-12 South Portland, Maine Chicago (USHL) Maine
22 Massachusetts Drevitch, LoganLogan Drevitch F 5' 10" 165 lb 1998-04-14 Middleborough, Massachusetts Boston Bandits (EHL) Merrimack
23 Ohio Gerard, CharlieCharlie Gerard F 6' 0" 174 lb 1995-11-19 Rocky River, Ohio Fargo (USHL) Minnesota State
24 Michigan Irvine, TylerTyler Irvine F 5' 11" 170 lb 1996-05-15 Livonia, Michigan Cedar Rapids (USHL) Merrimack
25 New Jersey Del Gaizo, AnthonyAnthony Del Gaizo F 5' 10" 185 lb 1998-01-31 Basking Ridge, New Jersey New Jersey (EHL) None
26 Ontario Klack, ChrisChris Klack F 5' 11" 160 lb 1997-06-03 Georgetown, Ontario Lincoln (USHL) Clarkson
27 Michigan Carabelli, GiovanniGiovanni Carabelli F 6' 0" 195 lb 1999-01-12 Shelby Township, Michigan Oakland Jr. Grizzlies U16 (Midget AAA) None
29 Massachusetts Daccord, JoeyJoey Daccord G 6' 3" 205 lb 1996-08-18 North Andover, Massachusetts Boston (USPHL) Arizona State
30 California Cooley, DevinDevin Cooley G 6' 5" 178 lb 1997-05-25 Los Gatos, California San Jose Jr. Sharks 18U (Midget AAA) None

References

  1. ↑ http://www.mlive.com/news/muskegon/index.ssf/2010/02/its_official_lumberjacks_hocke.html
  2. ↑ http://muskegon.wzzm13.com/news/news/145283-muskegon-lumberjacks-hire-new-owners-coach
  3. ↑ http://www.pointstreak.com/prostats/scoreboard.html?leagueid=49&seasonid=5967
  4. ↑ http://www.pointstreak.com/prostats/scoreboard.html?leagueid=49
  5. ↑ http://www.mlive.com/lumberjacks/index.ssf/2011/04/muskegon_lumberjacks_playoff_r.html
  6. ↑ "Team". Muskegon Lumberjacks. Retrieved April 10, 2016.
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