Photo by Michael Caples/MiHockey

PHOTOS: Lumberjacks win first USHL best-of-five playoff series in franchise history

Photo by Michael Caples/MiHockey
Photo by Michael Caples/MiHockey

 

By @MichaelCaples –

MUSKEGON – John Vanbiesbrouck said it was a “franchise-building” win for his club.

It’s easy to see why.

When the final buzzer sounded last night in Muskegon, the Lumberjacks held a 4-2 lead over the Youngstown Phantoms, and by doing so, they eliminated the No. 1 seed in their USHL playoff series.

The Lumberjacks, built by Vanbiesbrouck (the team’s GM) and coached by Todd Krygier, picked up their first best-of-five USHL playoff series victory, and they now head to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time in program history.

“Well these are franchise-building types of things,” Vanbiesbrouck said after the game. “Youngstown, Anderson Cup champions (best record in the regular season), we’re pretty well the lowest seed in the East and you kind of have nothing to lose, but we’re a very good hockey team, and we finally hit on all cylinders.

“What it means is, it confirms that we’re coaching the right way, we’re developing players the right way and to me, it’s personally gratifying, because we put it together.”

Thanks to captain Christian Wolanin’s two-goal night, the Lumberjacks put the finishing touches on a 3-1 series victory over the Phantoms and avoided a decisive Game 5 back in Youngstown.

“It’s awesome,” Wolanin, a Rochester native, said. “From the beginning, everyone had been doubting us, we never really got enough credit for how special this team is, but for the franchise, it’s huge, and our eyes are set on Round 2 now.”

In that Round 2, the Lumberjacks will face the Dubuque Fighting Saints, a team that has won two USHL titles in the last four years.

“I think it’s huge,” Krygier said about his team’s series win. “It’s the first time our franchise has won a round in the playoffs, and it’s the first time they’ve beat a top team in the league in the playoffs, obviously. I think it’s big. Now we’re playing a team that’s won two Clark Cups in the last four years, so we’ve got our work cut out for ourselves against Dubuque. It’s going to be a different style game and they’re a different style team, so coaches have to get to work and get these guys prepared.”

The only other playoff series victory the Lumberjacks have recorded came in 2011, when the brand-new program beat the U.S. NTDP Under-17 Team in a best-of-three match-up.

Muskegon picked up a Game 1 win on home ice on April 15, defeating the Phantoms in overtime on a goal from Brownstown native Matheson Iacopelli. The Phantoms rallied on home ice two nights later, defeating the Lumberjacks 4-2. Yet a double-overtime thriller in Game 3 that saw Will Graber score for Muskegon set the stage for them to return home with a chance to secure a series win at the L.C. Walker Arena.

The Lumberjacks trailed in every single game of the series – even the deciding Game 4 on Monday night – but managed to find a way to still take down the top-seeded Phantoms.

“We knew we were playing the best team in the league, and we had to be at the top of our game,” Krygier said. “We felt as though if we contained a couple of their players, we would give ourselves a chance to win, and we did that systematically through four games. Even the game we lost, it was a great hockey game.

“I’m really proud of our guys, because beating a team that set a USHL record for consecutive wins, to have the type of players that they have, our guys just did a great job. They worked hard, they sacrificed, and like I told them, that’s Round 1, and then the next round gets a little harder. We have expectations, and we just have to get ready for our next game.”

USHL Eastern Conference Final schedule

#3 Dubuque Fighting Saints vs. #4 Muskegon Lumberjacks

Game 1: Friday, April 24th, 7:35 PM – Muskegon @ Dubuque

Game 2: Saturday, April 25th, 7:05 PM – Muskegon @ Dubuque

Game 3: Friday, May 1st, 7:15 PM – Dubuque @ Muskegon

Game 4: Saturday, May 2nd, 7:15 PM – Dubuque @ Muskegon**

Game 5: Tuesday, May 5th, 7:05 PM – Muskegon @ Dubuque**

**if necessary

(all times reflect local start time)