The Muskegon Lumberjacks picked up the first Clark Cup Final win in franchise history Saturday night, downing the Waterloo Black Hawks 4-1 on the road.
The victory was a big one in another way. It knotted the best-of-five series at 1-1, ensuring the Final will go at least four games.
Unlike the helter-skelter first period of Game 1, the opening frame of Game 2 was scoreless. A strong second period gave the Jacks a 2-1 lead heading into the final period.
It was the Hawks who struck first just 1:44 into the second period. Teddy Mallgrave sped up the right wing boards and cut to the net, nudging a pass to Reid Morich. The Hawks captain was positioned at the top of the crease to flick in a quick attempt for a 1-0 lead.
Halfway through the frame, the Jacks responded to tie the game 1-1. Jack Christ carried the puck into the offensive zone on the far side of the slot. A pass to the near side for Matthew Van Blaricom was followed by an area pass behind the defense for Tynan Lawrence. As he moved across the front of the net, Lawrence pulled the puck from his forehand to his backhand, sliding it across the goal line for his seventh goal of the playoffs.
Lawrence picked up his second point of the night with an assist at 16:33. He chipped the puck over the stick of a Waterloo defenseman on his way out of the Jacks' zone. On his way through the neutral zone, Lawrence cut towards the near side of the ice and pulled a toe drag around another defenseman. He then slid a backdoor pass to David Deputy to finish off a highlight reel goal, giving the Jacks the 2-1 lead.
A pair of goals came for the Jacks in the third period. Deputy potted his second goal of the game at 9:49. While on a power play, David Klee held the puck on the far side of the ice and fired a pass across the slot to Deputy on the near side of the post. The pass forced Deputy below the goal line, but he executed strong patience and slid the puck to the front of the net and across the goal to give the Jacks a 3-1 lead.
With less than one second to play, Vaclav Nestrasil sent the puck into an empty net to cap off the 4-1 victory for the Jacks.
Shikhabudtin Gadzhiev stopped 22 of the 23 shots sent his way to increase his post-season mark to a perfect 6-0-0. Carter Casey earned the loss with 26 saves on 29 shots.
Muskegon outshot the Hawks 29-23. The Jacks were 1-for-2 on the power play, while Waterloo was 0-for-2.
Game 3 of the Clark Cup Final is Friday night in Muskegon at Trinity Health Arena. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 Pm ET.