Minnesota Duluth Commit Carl Axelsson Leads USHL In Save Percentage At Halfway Mark
Just seven months ago, the Muskegon Lumberjacks were celebrating their first Clark Cup championship. That night, Jacks goaltender Shika Gadzhiev made 34 saves on 37 shots in the overtime victory to seal the series over the Waterloo Blackhawks. Gadzhiev would move on from Muskegon following the season, leaving a big hole in the net for new head coach, Colten St. Clair.
Lumberjacks Name New Head Coach
After leading the Muskegon Lumberjacks to their first <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/ushl/game-day/christ-s-hat-trick-powers-lumberjacks-to-clark-cup-win-in-overtime">Clark Cup Championship </a>in franchise history, head coach Parker Burgess stepped down after 2-1/2 years behind the bench. On Monday, the club named his replacement.
Enter Carl Axelsson. After a brief stint with the Sioux Falls Stampede and NAHL outfit Austin Bruins in the 2024-25 campaign, Axelsson joined the defending champion Jacks. At the holiday break, Axelsson leads the USHL in save percentage with 0.931% through 17 games played. The next highest mark for a netminder with at least 15 games played is 0.916%, held by Michal Pradel of the Tri-City Storm. Muskegon is a blistering 14-3-0 when Axelsson is between the pipes, including one shutout. His counterpart, rookie William Keane, has played 10 games with a record of 6-4 and a save percentage of 0.915%.
The native of Danderyd, Sweden pledged his future to the University of Minnesota Duluth last summer. The Bulldogs have a storied program, with 3 NCAA national titles in the last 15 years. Axelsson will be no stranger to stiff competition for the net, having represented his country 9 times at the U-18 level. Minnesota Duluth currently sits 3rd in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference.
NCHC's Minnesota Duluth Turning Heads As We Speak
Minnesota Duluth is by far the biggest surprise in the NCHC, thanks to stellar starts from Adam Gajan and the Plante brothers.
While Axelsson had big shoes to fill for the Lumberjacks, he's stepped up so far this season and has his team poised for another long run in the Clark Cup playoffs. Muskegon sits in second place in a loaded Eastern Conference, with Green Bay, Youngstown, and Dubuque forming what will surely be a tight race for the top seed come April.
Muskegon will start the second half of the season with a home-and-home weekend against the US National Team Development Program U-17 squad December 27-28.