Weekend Watch: Lumberjacks Chopping Up Goalies, Playoff Races Getting Tighter

Scoring goals wasn’t a problem for the Muskegon Lumberjacks last weekend, which was bad news for the goalies unfortunate enough to get in their way.

Meanwhile, the races for the Anderson Cup and final playoff spots are getting tighter as the regular season draws to a close.

Here are some things to watch for during this weekend’s action in the USHL.

Lumberjacks Chop Up Goaltenders

Goals were plentiful for the Muskegon Lumberjacks last weekend.

The Jacks swept the Green Bay Gamblers last weekend, highlighted by a hat trick from Ivan Ryabkin on Friday night, and six points by Vaclav Nestrasil through the series.

Muskegon totaled 18 goals combined over the three games, starting with a 6-3 victory on Friday. They followed up that performance with a similar score on Saturday and a 6-1 triumph on Sunday.

The Jacks’ Xavier Veilleux was named USHL Defensemen of the week. Veilleux tallied assists in all three games this past weekend and led all blueliners with six points over the weekend.

Goaltender Stephen Peck has been solid, earning his 18th win of the season while stopping 23 of 24 shots in his last outing.

The Jacks now sit tied for second place in the Eastern Conference with the Madison Capitols leading into a massive three game series at home this weekend.

Muskegon is riding a six-game winning streak. The Capitols have won five consecutive contests, including an impressive 5-3 victory over the Dubuque Fighting Saints last weekend. Egor Barabanov scored the game-winner late in that contest.

Playoff Race Heats Up

As the Clark Cup Playoffs draw near, the race is getting tighter. Some teams who have already punched their tickets still have something to play for between now and the end of the regular season.

The Lincoln Stars (40-15-2-0, 82 points) are still in control in the race for the Anderson Cup, but their margin for error is getting smaller.

The Sioux Falls Stampede (38-14-3-2, 81 points) are just one point behind. At 37-17-1-2, 77 points, Dubuque is five points back in the quest for the USHL’s best regular-season record.

Madison (36-15-3-1, 76 points) and Muskegon (34-14-4-4, 76 points) are both still within striking distance.

With the Sioux City Musketeers clinching a post-season berth last weekend, only two playoff spots are left in each conference. The Fargo Force have a magic number of three to clinch a spot. The Tri-City Storm sit at a magic number of seven

The top two teams in each conference at the end of the regular season will each earn a bye in the first round of the playoffs.

On The Rise

Omaha Lancers forward Caden Lee is one of the few bright spots for the team this season. He’s riding a five-game goal-scoring streak, with six since March 11.

Adam Valentini of the Chicago Steel has recorded seven points over his last seven games (2-5-7).

The Steel’s Cameron Briere has goals in four consecutive games with seven points (5-2-7) during that span.