A 1-1-1 weekend

The Ice finished a three-game, three-city weekend with a 1-1-1 mark after today's 6-2 loss on the road to the Green Bay Gamblers in a much-anticipated matchup of the USHL's top two teams.

Green Bay has been the top dog throughout the year, and so today's contest could've been seen as a statement game. Or it could be seen as what it was -- a road game for a team that had to travel from Indy to Muskegon to Green Bay in the span of 36 hours and play three games. What's likely is somewhere in-between. Green Bay again asserted itself as the USHL's top team, and the Ice continue to hold down the No. 2 position.

The upcoming stretch of road games will be key for the Ice to maintain that spot, which would grant them a first-round bye in the Eastern Conference playoffs.

Today, the Ice fell behind 2-0 after a period and 4-1 midway through the second as the Gamblers tallied goals from four different goal-scorers -- Alex Broadhurst, Sheldon Dries, Nolan LaPorte and Grant Arnold.

Jacob Fallon scored unassisted 2:51 into the second and Woody Hudson buried a feed from Tyler Pham later in the period to cut Green Bay leads to 2-1 and 4-2 respectively. But the Gamblers got two goals in the first five minutes of the third to put the game away.

Jon Gillies made 27 saves in net, but was chased after 44:53 of time. Dalton Izyk stopped all four shots he faced later in the third period. Green Bay's Ryan McKay made 31 saves to get the win in goal.

USHL boxscore

The loss came on the heels of a 5-3 victory over Muskegon on Saturday in a game that was played at Muskegon, although it was technically an Ice home game. The game was moved due to Super Bowl festivities tying up both the Pepsi Coliseum and Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

Fallon, Sean Kuraly and Joe Fiala scored first-period goals, with Jose Delgadillo assisting on two and Kuraly also getting an assist for a two-point period. Fallon also ended up with a two-point night, as he assisted on Daniil Tarasov's power play goal midway through the second that put the Ice up 4-2.

Emil Romig added a key insurance goal on a feed from Ryan Obuchowski at 7:30 of the third to put the Ice up 5-3, and Izyk made it stand up. He stopped 30 shots, but only faced six in the third period due to the Ice's strong defense, to get the victory.

USHL boxscore

The Ice are now 22-9-5 after the weekend, 10 points back of first-place Green Bay, but four ahead of third-place Dubuque and Youngstown.

The Ice will be back on the road this weekend, traveling to Green Bay on Friday, then to Dubuque on Saturday. After a double-home weekend Feb. 10-11, they'll embark on a seven-game road trip.

Ice go OT for win

The Indiana Ice have had a penchant for giving the customers free hockey the last few nights.

For the third time in four games, the Ice went overtime Wednesday night at Muskegon. Sean Kuraly's unassisted goal with 14 seconds left in the extra session gave the Ice a 3-2 victory in the L.C. Walker Arena.

Kuraly's game-winner was his 16th of the year. 

The victory -- coupled with Dubuque's loss to Green Bay and Youngstown's shootout loss to Cedar Rapids -- moved the Ice past Dubuque and into a second-place tie in the USHL Eastern Conference with Youngstown with 34 points. Dubuque is in fourth with 33 points.

The Ice and Youngstown won't wait long to settle their second-place deadlock -- they play two games in Indianapolis this weekend -- at Pepsi Coliseum Friday and at Bankers Life Fieldhouse Saturday.

These two teams were meeting for the second straight game, and for the second straight game, Muskegon rallied from a third-period deficit to force overtime.

The Ice's league-best power play got going on its second opportunity in the first period, when Robbie Baillargeon cashed in, assisted by Ryan Obuchowski and Jacob Fallon with 4:21 left in the opening frame. It was Baillargeon's 11th goal of the year and his sixth consecutive game with a point.

Captain Alex Barron scored his third of the season unassisted at 2:59 of the second to give the Ice a 2-0 lead. The Ice dominated the opening two periods -- outshooting Muskegon 25-11 in the first 40 minutes, including 17-7 in the middle period -- but Muskegon's John Keeney was able to keep the puck out of his net the rest of the period after Barron's early goal, including killing off three Ice power plays in the middle of the frame.

Muskegon rallied in the third when Dakota Kletcha scored on the power play at 4:55 of the third. Each team got a power play in the ensuing minutes, but couldn't cash in. Mark Yanis scored at 12:26 of the third to tie it, and then Muskegon got its sixth power play of the night moments thereafter. But Jon Gillies and the Ice defense kept the net clean, allowing the game to go to OT, where Kuraly's heroics gave the Ice another extra-session victory.

The Ice dominated the OT, outshooting Muskegon 7-2 in the session and 46-25 for the game. Keeney made 43 saves, Gillies made 23.

Three stars
1. Sean Kuraly (Ice), GWG, +1, 8 shots
2. John Keeney (Mus), 43 saves, 3 GA
3. Mark Yanis (Mus), GTG in 3rd period

USHL boxscore

Game 26: Ice at Muskegon

After a 10-day layoff, the Ice are back in action tonight as they travel north to face the Muskegon Lumberjacks.

As we turn to a new year, it's always fun to look back. Not only does an Ice-Lumberjacks matchup conjure up feelings of 1990 -- and the Turner Cup Finals that year -- it also brings into focus two of the USHL's better-run organizations -- the Ice have built a championship-level club under the direction of Paul and Charlie Skjodt, while Muskegon is building under the leadership of Josh Mervis -- who was also the Ice's first USHL GM.

This week is also huge for the Ice, as they'll play three games in four nights against Eastern Conference foes. After leaving Muskegon tonight, they'll return home to face the Youngstown Phantoms in two home games -- Friday at Pepsi Coliseum and Saturday at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. The Ice currently sit in fourth place, but at 32 points, are just one point back of second-place Youngstown and Dubuque.

The Ice's Daniil Tarasov is the USHL's second-leading scorer behind Lincoln's Kevin Roy. Sean Kuraly and Jacob Fallon are both sixth in scoring. At +15, Tarasov is also fourth in plus/minus. The Ice also possess the USHL's top power play, connecting at 31 percent.  Tonight's game also features the USHL's two most penalized teams.

Let's look at tonight's game:

Tonight's game
Indiana Ice (14-7-4)
at 
Muskegon Lumberjacks (9-12-0)
7:05 p.m., L.C. Walker Arena, Muskegon, Mich.


Broadcast: ushl.fasthockey.com

Season series: Lumberjacks lead 2-0
Dec. 18: Lumberjacks 3, Ice 2, OT (at Muskegon): Sean Kuraly G, A; Robbie Baillargeon G; Jon Gillies 31 saves (Ice); Max Shuart GWG in OT, Mike McNicholas GTG with :21 left in 3rd, Ryan Lomorg 2A, Jon Keeney 44 saves (Mus)
Nov. 12: Lumberjacks 5, Ice 4 (at Pepsi Coliseum): Woody Hudson, Robbie Baillargeon 2G; Christian Hilbrich 2A; Dalton Izyk 25sv on 29 shots (Ice); Nick Seeler, John Padulo G, 2A each; Max Shuart G, A; Paul Berrafato 33 saves (Mus)



Tale of the Tape
Ice (14-7-4, 4th USHL East)
Head coach: Kyle Wallack
GF: 90 (2nd). GA: 72 (8th)
PP: 31.8% (1st). PK: 85.3 % (3rd) PIM: 470 (15th)
OT record: 2-2 SO record: 1-2
Road record: 7-2-3
Leading scorers: Daniil Tarasov (15-19-34), Jacob Fallon (9-18-27), Sean Kuraly (15-12-27), Robbie Baillargeon (10-14-24).
Leading +/-: Daniil Tarasov (+15), Alex Barron (+12), Ryan Obuchowski (+11)
Leading PIM: Woody Hudson (67), Daniil Tarasov (55), R.J. Boyd (47)
Leading goaltender: Jon Gillies (13-5-4, 2.47 GAA, .923sv%, 1 SHO), Dalton Izyk (1-2-0, 3.77 GAA, .878 sv%)
Last 5: 3-0-2. Last 10: 5-3-2
Last 5
12/18: at Muskegon (OTL 2-3)
12/17: at Chicago (W 6-2)
12/16: at Chicago (SOL 2-3)
12/10: vs. Dubuque (W 3-2)
12/9: vs. Dubuque (W 6-1)

Lumberjacks (9-12-0, 7th USHL East)
Head coach: Kevin Patrick
GF: 57 (15th). GA: 77 (9th)
PP: 15.1% (11th). PK: 82.4% (10th). PIM: 541 (16th)
OT record: 1-0 SO record: 0-0
Home record: 6-5-0
Leading scorers: John Padulo (6-9-15), Travis Behlorad (8-5-13), Ryan Lomberg (4-8-12)
Leading +/-: Carter Foguth (+3), Mike McNicholas (+2)
Leading PIM: Mark Yanis (64), Ryan Lomborg (58)
Leading goaltender: Paul Berrafato (5-4-0, 3.12 GAA, .892sv%), John Keeney (4-6-0, 3.42 GAA, .909sv%, 2 SHO)
Last 5: 2-3-0. Last 10: 4-6-0

Ice next 5 games
12/30: vs. Youngstown

12/31: vs. Youngstown

Ice fall to Lumberjacks in OT

The Muskegon Lumberjacks rallied and swiped a point from the Ice on Sunday night, beating the Ice 3-2.

With goaltender John Keeney pulled for an extra attacker, Muskegon's Mike McNicholas scored to tie the game with 21 seconds left in regulation. Then, just 16 seconds into OT, Joseph Cox fed Max Shuart for the game-winner.

The Ice finished a tough three-game road weekend with a 1-0-2 record and four points. They are now 3-0-2 in their last five games and remain in fourth place in the USHL's Eastern Conference, but just one point back of second in an extremely competitive Eastern race.

The Ice's league-best power play cashed in twice on six opportunities to give the Ice a 2-1 lead that looked like it was going to stand up until the closing seconds. The Ice controlled much of the play, launching 46 shots at Keeney and outshooting the Jacks 46-34.

Sean Kuraly had a goal, an assist and got 10 shots on goal -- which is a team high for the season -- to lead the Ice. The Ice trailed 1-0 after Muskegon scored midway through the first, and that lead held up until the final minute of the second, when the Ice went on their fourth power play of the night. Ryan Obuchowski started a play that got the puck to Kuraly, and then to Robbie Baillargeon for a goal with 49 seconds left in the middle period.

The goal was Baillargeon's 10th of the year, making him the third Ice player to hit the double-digit mark. It was also his fifth straight game with at least one point, his second-longest such streak of the year.

The game remained tied at 1-1, with each team getting a shortened power play at the start of the third. The Ice got an opportunity to take the lead when Muskegon's Ryan Lomborg was sent off for hooking with 6:09 left. Kuraly took advantage, scoring an unassisted goal with 4:30 to go to give the Ice a lead that they'd take until the final minute.

Gillies made 31 saves for the Ice in the loss. The Ice were 2-for-6 on the power play, and a perfect 4-for-4 on the penalty kill.

The Ice are now off for a week and a half for a Christmas break. They'll be back in action Dec. 28, back in the L.C. Walker Arena against Muskegon. They return home for a New Year's twinbill with Youngstown, facing the Phantoms at the Pepsi Coliseum on Dec. 30 and at Conseco Fieldhouse on Dec. 31.

3 stars
1. Max Shuart (MUS), GWG, 4 shots, +2
2. John Keeney (MUS), 44 saves, 2 GA, win
3. Ryan Lomborg (MUS), 2 assists, +2, 4 shots

USHL boxscore

Ice Jan. 27-28 games moved due to Super Bowl

Due to Super Bowl festivities, the Ice's Jan. 27-28 home games have been moved to accommodate Super Bowl-related events at Pepsi Coliseum.

The Jan. 27 home game against Chicago will be at a TBA site. The Ice announced that season ticketholders will be accommodated first when the site is chosen.

The Jan. 28 home game against Muskegon has been moved to the L.C. Walker Sports Arena in Muskegon -- the Lumberjacks' home ice.

Ice rally against Muskegon, but fall 5-4

Friday night, the Ice saw the opponent rally from a two-goal deficit and steal a couple of points from the Pepsi Coliseum. Saturday night, the shoe was on the Ice's foot, as they rallied from a two-goal deficit in the third to tie the game. But just like Friday, the result wasn't a happy one, as Muskegon's Joseph Cox scored a tiekbreaking goal just 64 seconds after the Ice evened the score and the Lumberjacks skated away from Indianapolis with a 5-4 victory.

Robbie Baillargeon and Woody Hudson each scored twice for the Ice in the loss.

Muskegon won two one-goal games on the road on the weekend to put itself in the thick of a wild USHL East race. The Ice dropped two games at home -- both by 5-4 scores -- and had just one point to show for their weekend efforts.

The game was a penalty-filled one, as the Ice committed 54 penalty minutes and gave Muskegon 11 power plays. Muskegon -- the USHL's most-penalized team -- was whistled for 21 penalty minutes and gave the Ice four power plays -- killing them all. Muskegon's two power play goals were the first two scored by a visiting team on Coliseum ice this season.

The Ice are now 7-3-2 on the year. They are 1-2-2 in their last five games after a hot start.

Trailing 3-1, the Ice rallied in the third to tie the game. Moments after Alex Smith stepped out of the box, Hudson scored his fourth goal of the year to cut the Jacks' lead to one at 5:09 of the period, but the Lumberjacks answered three minutes later to push the lead back to 4-2.

Right off the draw after that goal, things quickly didn't look good for the Ice's chances to rally when a melee broke out at the 8:08 mark that saw four players being given delay of game penalties, but the Ice's Drew Smolczynski was also issued a five-minute major -- and later, a game misconduct -- putting the Ice shorthanded for an extended period of time. Robbie Baillargeon scored his second goal of the game just 13 seconds after the penalties were issued.

Hudson -- moving up to the top line while leading scorer Daniil Tarasov served a misconduct penalty for the final 9:50 -- scored the game-tying goal on a feed from Robert Polosello with 5:08 left in the game, and it appaered the Ice had rallied.

But with 4:04 left -- and just five seconds after matching minors were handed out to both teams -- Cox scored on an assist from Jordan Masters.

Muskegon's top line was rolling in the first two periods. Max Shuart scored on the power play just 2:09 into the game on John Padulo's assist. After the Ice's Baillargeon tied the game in the final minute of the first -- continuing his hot streak with five points in the last four games -- Padulo fed Nick Seeler for a power play goal and then scored one himself off Shuart's assist just 48 seconds apart to give the Jacks a 3-1 lead going into the third.

The game began to get chippy in the second, as Hudson fought Muskegon's Carter Foguth right off the second-period draw, and the Ice then gave Muskegon four power plays in the period.

Jon Gillies played just 11:34, but took the loss in net as he was in goal for the game-winner. Dalton Izyk started the game for the Ice and made 25 saves, but was pulled at the 48:08 mark shortly after Muskegon took a 4-2 lead. Gillies stopped five of the six shots he saw.

Veteran Paul Berrafato stopped 29 of 33 Ice shots to get the victory in net.

In addition to Hudson and Baillargeon scoring twice, Christian Hilbrich assisted on both Baillargeon goals.

3 stars
1. Nick Seeler, MUS (goal, 2 assists, +3)
2. Woody Hudson, Ice (2 goals, +2, 4 shots)
3. Robbie Baillargeon, Ice (2 goals, +1, 3 shots)

Next up for the Ice is a two-game trip to Cedar Rapids and Waterloo next weekend and another trip to Green Bay the night before Thanksgiving. They return home Thanksgiving weekend to face Sioux City (Nov. 25) and Fargo (Nov. 26), beginning a run of seven consecutive home games for the Ice.

11/12: Ice vs. Muskegon

The good part about two-game weekends is that a team has the chance to ride the wave of a big victory by playing again 24 hours later ... or bounce back quickly from a tough defeat.

The Ice will be looking to do the latter as they welcome the Muskegon Lumberjacks to the Pepsi Coliseum for a 7 p.m. faceoff Saturday night. The Ice are fresh off a 5-4 overtime loss to the Green Bay Gamblers in which GB rallied from a two-goal deficit in the third period to take the game. The Ice are in the midst of their first losing streak of the year -- if you can call it that -- as they've dropped back-to-back games, but both were in overtime. The Ice are now 1-1-2 in their last four after a blistering 6-1-0 start.

Every game in the East is key, as virtually every top USHL team is there and the top of the standings is naturally crowded. The Clark Cup finalists from last year, Green Bay (18 points) and Dubuque (17 points) are 1-2, but the Ice and Cedar Rapids both lurk one game back with 16 points. With 14 points, Youngstown is in fifth. Muskegon, right now, is in sixth with 10.

Muskegon is much-improved from last year's expansion squad and is fresh off a 2-1 Friday-night road victory at Youngstown.  Ryan Lomborg (4th) and Joseph Cox (1st) scored the goals while netminder John Keeney made 25 saves for his first victory of the year.

This is the first matchup between the Ice and 'Jacks this year.

Tonight's game (Saturday, Nov. 12, 2011)
Muskegon Lumberjacks (5-6-0, T5th, USHL East)
at
Indiana Ice (7-2-2, T3rd, USHL East)
7:05 p.m., Pepsi Coliseum, Indianapolis, IN

Broadcast: ushl.fasthockey.com

Season series: First meeting


Tale of the Tape
Ice (7-2-2, t3rd USHL East)
Head coach: Kyle Wallack
GF: 44 (1st). GA: 30 (t3rd)
PP: 35.9% (1st). PK: 89.7 % (4th) PIM: 197 (11th)
Home record: 3-1-1
Leading scorers: Daniil Tarasov (8-11-19), Jacob Fallon (7-7-14), Alex Barron (1-10-11), Sean Kuraly (4-7-11, will not dress), Robbie Baillargeon (4-5-9, 4 points last 3 games)
Leading +/-: Daniil Tarasov (+10), Alex Barron (+9)
Leading PIM: Daniil Tarasov (27), R.J. Boyd (26)
Leading goaltender: Jon Gillies (6-1-2, 2.20 GAA, .921sv%, 1 SHO), Dalton Izyk (1-1-0, 4.20 GAA, .873 sv%)
Last 5: 2-1-2 Last 10: 6-2-2
Last 5
11/12: vs. Green Bay (OTL 4-5)
11/5: at Youngstown (SOL 3-4)
11/4: vs. Cedar Rapids (W 5-1)
10/29: vs. Waterloo (L 3-4)
10/28: vs. Waterloo (W 2-0)

Lumberjacks (5-7-0, t6th USHL East)
Head coach: Kevin Patrick

GF: 32 (11th). GA: 41 (14th)
PP: 14.2% (8th). PK: 82.5% (9th) PIM: 292 (16th)
Road record: 2-4-0
Leading scorers: Dakota Kletcha (7-2-9), Matt DeBlouw (3-5-8), John Padulo (2-6-8)
Leading +/-: Joshua Henke (+7), Dakota Kletcha (+6)
Leading PIM: Marc Yanis (50), Joshua Henke (33)
Leading goaltender: Paul Berrafato (4-2-0, 2.52 GAA, .910sv%)
Last 5: 4-1-0 Last 10: 5-5-0
Last 5
11/12 at Youngstown (W 2-1)
11/5 vs. Cedar Rapids (L 1-2)
11/4 vs. Youngstown (W 4-1)
10/30 vs. Waterloo (W 4-2)
10/29 vs. Chicago (W 5-1)

Ice next 5 games
11/18: at Cedar Rapids11/19: at Waterloo
11/23: at Green Bay
11/25: vs. Sioux City
11/26: vs. Fargo

Jr. Ice's Jobst to Lumberjacks

Speedway High School senior and Indiana Junior Ice U18 player Mason Jobst has been called up to play for the Muskegon Lumberjacks.

Jobst will suit up for the Jacks Saturday against the Ice at Pepsi Coliseum. He has three USHL games under his belt as a member of the USNDTP team last year.

Jobst has 12 goals and 7 assists in 23 games with the Junior Ice this year.

Ice fall to Jacks 4-2

Muskegon scored twice in the first period and twice more in the third to beat the Ice 4-2 tonight at Kalamazoo.

Robert Polosello scored on assists from Cody Gyllying and Dan Sherer at 7:42 of the second period to get the Ice on the board. Daniil Tarasov tied the game with 11:00 left on a feed from Alexander Kuqali, but Muskegon's Ryan Bullock scored the game-winner 3:17 later and Tyler Heinonen added an empty-netter at game's end.

Jon Gillies and Dalton Izyk shared goaltending duties. Gillies made six saves in the first half of the game, Izyk made 15 stops after coming in halfway through the second.

The Ice are now 2-1 in the preseason heading into the USHL Fall Classic next week.

Boxscore

Ice face Lumberjacks tonight

The Indiana Ice continue the preseason tonight against the Muskegon Lumberjacks.

Faceoff is 7:05 p.m. at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, Mich.

The Ice are 2-0 in the preseason after dispatching Chicago 5-4 and 3-1 in a home-and-home last weekend. Robert Polosello was the Ice's top scorer. Leading returning scorer Daniil Tarasov is likely to be in action after spending the last week at the Pittsburgh Penguins' rookie camp.

After tonight, the Ice will head to Sioux City for the USHL Fall Classic, where they will play three games in three days and wrap up the preseason before opening Oct. 1.

Ice finish on high note

The Ice finished off a near-sweep of the Muskegon Lumberjacks with a 6-1 victory tonight at the L.C. Walker Arena. It gave the Ice a 37-19-4 record to close the regular season -- including a 6-0-1 mark against Muskegon.

Daniil Tarasov's goal with 13 seconds left in the opening period started things, but the barrage started from there. Blake Coleman and Sean Kuraly scored twice each -- once each in the second and third periods -- and Peter Schneider scored a second-period goal. Brian Ferlin had four assists and Coleman added an assist for a three-point night. The Ice held a 47-25 shot advantage, as Casey DeSmith made 24 saves for his 22nd win in net on the year. The game got a bit testy in the second period, as the Ice's Jarrod Rabey and Muskegon's Carter Foguth had a third-period scrap, and then Ice PIM leader Will Aide and USHL PIM leader Micki Mihailovich got tied up a couple of minutes later. There were also three sets of coincidental minors called during that period.

The Ice now head to the playoffs, where they will face the Waterloo Black Hawks in a best-of-3 series starting Thursday night at the Pepsi Coliseum. Should the Ice win, they'll face second-place Green Bay in a best-of-5, which would be a matchup of the last two Clark Cup champions.

Coleman's three-point night capped off a runaway USHL scoring title with 92 points (34-58), but his entire line finished 1-2-3. Tarasov finished second in the scoring race with 37-38-75 and Ferlin's four-point night put him in third with 25-48-73 points. Coleman also leads the USHL with a +52 plus/minus rating and with 58 assists. Tarasov won the goal-scoring crown by one tally over Dubuque's John Gaudreau, who was scoreless tonight. Nick Mattson and Alex Barron were tops among USHL defensemen in plus/minus with +33 and +24, respectively. Mattson was second to Sioux City's Jordan Schmaltz in defenseman scoring with 36 points. The Ice were the highest-scoring team in the USHL this season with 237 goals -- 25 more than Cedar Rapids. At 21.7%, the Ice had the league's most potent power play.

The Ice set numerous team records this year. The record of 37-19-4 was third-best in franchise history, behind the 2008 team that went 39-15-6 and the 2009 Clark Cup champs that went 39-19-2. They tied the team record with a seven-game winning streak in March, and shattered a mark with a nine-game road winning streak that spanned from Nov. 26-Jan. 28. The Ice also set team records for shutouts in a season (6 ... Gillies & DeSmith with 3 each), best road record (18-10-2) and best OT record (6-1). With hat tricks against Waterloo and Chicago earlier this year, Ferlin and Tarasov tied the single-game goal scoring record. On Jan. 2, Coleman had a five-assist game against Waterloo, setting a team record for most assists in a game and tying a team mark for most points in a game. Tarasov (Jan. 15 vs. Tri-City), Ferlin and Coleman (both March 11 vs. Chicago) also tied the single-game mark with five-point games.

Coleman's 98 points and Tarasov's 37 goals set records for scoring. The team's 237 goals also set a record. Matter of fact, the Coleman-Tarasov-Ferlin line now holds the top three spots for Ice single-season scoring. The previous mark was John Kemp's 72 points in 2007-08. Tarasov's goal-scoring record beats Paul Carey's standard of 34 goals set in 2007-08. Coleman finished one assist shy of breaking Kemp's mark for assists in a season. Kemp had 59 in that 2007-08 year. Casey DeSmith's 2.54 goals against average is also a team-best for a single season, beating Cab Morris' mark of 2.57 set last year.

The 37-19-4 mark moves Charlie Skjodt into the top spot amongst Ice coaches in career wins. He now has a 76-34-10 mark in two full regular seasons with the Ice.

Tonight's 3 stars
1. Brian Ferlin - Ice (4 assists)
2. Blake Coleman - Ice (2 goals, assist)
3. Sean Kuraly - Ice (2 goals)
Game boxscore

Game 60: Ice at Muskegon

Indiana Ice (36-19-4, 3rd USHL East)

at 

Muskegon Lumberjacks (24-27-8, 5th USHL East)

7:15 p.m. Saturday, April 9 / L.C. Walker Sports Arena

Head to head (Ice 5, Lumberjacks 1 -- each team 1 OTL).
Oct. 2: Ice 4, Lumberjacks 1 (at Muskegon). Blake Coleman 2G, Casey DeSmith 28 saves
Oct. 23: Lumberjacks 5, Ice 4, SO (at Muskegon). Nick Mattson 2A for Ice, Taft G, A for Muskegon
Jan. 7: Ice 7, Lumberjacks 1 (at Indiana). Peter Schneider 2G, Coleman/Ferlin/Tarasov G, A.  DeSmith 27sv.
Jan. 25: Ice 5, Lumberjacks 4, OT (at Indiana). Nick Mattson GWG, Coleman 3A. Ice 54 shots.
March 13: Ice 7, Lumberjacks 0 (at Indiana). Schneider 2G, A. DeSmith 28sv, SHO.
March 25: Ice 5, Lumberjacks 1 (at Indiana). Ice 5 different goal scorers, Daniil Tarasov 2A. DeSmith 21 saves.  

Tale of the Tape
Ice
GF: 231 (1st) / GA: 165 (7th) 
PP: 21.7% (1st) / PK: 85.6% (7th) / PIM: 873 (4th) 
Road record: 17-10-2 
Last 5: 2-3-0 Last 10: 7-3-0
Leading scorers: Blake Coleman (32-57*-89*), Daniil Tarasov (36*-38-74), Brian Ferlin (25-44-69) 
Leading goaltender: Casey DeSmith (21-13-2, 2.58), Jon Gillies (15-6-2, 2.82) 
Leading +/-: Blake Coleman (+49)*
Leading PIM: Will Aide (135)

Tale of the Tape
Lumberjacks
GF: 186 (7th) / GA: 229 (15th)
PP: 12.3% (15th) / PK: 83.1% (11th) / PIM: 1567 (16th)
Home record: 13-13-3
Last 5: 2-3-0 Last 10: 2-8-0
Leading scorers: Ryan Misiak (15-43-58), Matt Berry (25-26-51), Isaac Kohls (18-21-39)
Leading goaltender: Joel Vienneau (15-18-4, 3.70), Paul Berrafato (9-9-4, 3.51)
Leading +/-: Carter Foguth (+11)
Leading PIM: Micki Mihalovich (257)*
*-leads league

It's time to wrap up the USHL regular season. This game doesn't mean anything to either team in terms of playoff positioning -- the Ice have wrapped up the #3 seed, the Lumberjacks the #5 -- and both teams have pretty potent offenses. Expect two teams to do a little bit of fine-tuning before the playoffs and possibly give some players a breather. The Ice have a couple of individual accomplishments on the line. Blake Coleman has all but wrapped up the USHL's scoring title and will undoubtedly lead the league in +/-. Daniil Tarasov is tied with Dubuque's Ryan Gaudreau for the league goal-scoring lead with 36. The Ice will end up leading the league in scoring. Muskegon has won two of its last five, so it has been playing better than it had been when it last visited Indianapolis on a five-game skid and was handed a 5-1 defeat. 

Ice win 6th straight

Powered by three third-period goals, the Indiana Ice won their sixth straight game Wednesday, beating the Muskegon Lumberjacks 5-1 at the Pepsi Coliseum.

With the victory, the Ice clinch no worse than third place in the USHL's East Division. Should the Ice finish third, they will have home ice in the best-of-three first-round series. Should they climb into one of the top two spots, they'll receive a first-round bye in the USHL Playoffs. 

Five different players scored for the Ice, who jumped on the Lumberjacks early -- netting the game's first eight shots -- and kept coming at the visitors. David Johnstone gave the Ice a 1-0 lead just 4:19 in, whistling a shot from the point past Muskegon's Paul Berrafoto -- who made several dandy saves on the evening to keep the game close for much of the night. A tip-in by Brian Ferlin finished off a strong rush started by defenseman Alexander Kuqali to make it a 2-0 game just 101 seconds into the second period.

Muskegon added a PPG on a laser from Isaac Kohls from the point, but the Ice scored thrice in the third, with Cody Bradley netting a key insurance goal just 23 seconds in on the initial rush of the period. Nick Mattson finished off a 4-on-2 rush with a goal from the high slot and Will Aide added a clincher a couple of minutes later to give the Ice a three-goal period and the 5-1 victory.

The Ice spread the scoring out, as only one player -- Daniil Tarasov -- netted two points on the evening, as he assisted on Ferlin and Mattson's tallies. Alex Barron was a plus-3.

Johnstone's goal was his 18th of the year. Two more would give the Ice five 20-goal scorers. Ferlin added his 24th. Bradley hit double-digits with 10, while Mattson & Aide both scored #6 on the year.

Casey DeSmith had 21 saves for his 21st victory in goal. 

Three stars:
1: Cody Bradley (Ice). Key goal to break game open early in third, +1.
2: Daniil Tarasov (Ice). 2 assists, 5 shots, +2
3. Alex Barron (Ice). 1 assist, +3

The Ice are now 34-16-4, and remain in third place. They're six points behind division leader Green Bay with six games left for both teams. Cedar Rapids is five points ahead of the Ice, but has two games in hand. The Ice have outscored teams 32-6 in this current six-game win streak. The Ice lead the season series against Muskegon 5-1 (both teams have one OTL) with one game remaining in the L.C. Walker Arena in Michigan. Back-to-back home games against the Des Moines Buccaneers Friday & Saturday will close out the home portion of the season. Both games face off at 7:05 p.m. at the Pepsi Coliseum. Des Moines (24-21-6) is currently tied with Sioux City for the last playoff spot in the West with 54 points. The Ice then close out the year with four road games over the last two weekends.

Gamesheet

Wednesday game preview: Ice vs. Muskegon

Muskegon Lumberjacks (22-23-8, 5th USHL East)

at

Indiana Ice (33-16-4, 3rd USHL East)

7:05 p.m. Wednesday, March 23 / Pepsi Coliseum 

Head to head (Ice 4, Lumberjacks 1 -- each team 1 OTL).
Oct. 2: Ice 4, Lumberjacks 1 (at Muskegon). Blake Coleman 2G, Casey DeSmith 28 saves
Oct. 23: Lumberjacks 5, Ice 4, SO (at Muskegon). Nick Mattson 2A for Ice, Taft G, A for Muskegon
Jan. 7: Ice 7, Lumberjacks 1 (at Indiana). Peter Schneider 2G, Coleman/Ferlin/Tarasov G, A.  DeSmith 27sv.

Jan. 25: Ice 5, Lumberjacks 4, OT (at Indiana). Nick Mattson GWG, Coleman 3A. Ice 54 shots.
March 13: Ice 7, Lumberjacks 0 (at Indiana). Schneider 2G, A. DeSmith 28sv, SHO.
Remaining games
April 9: at Muskegon


Tale of the Tape
Lumberjacks
GF: 173 (4th) / GA: 209 (16th)
PP: 12.89% (13th) / PK: 82.45% (11th) / PIM: 1431 (16th)
Road record: 11-11-5
Last 5: 0-5-0 Last 10: 3-7-0

Leading scorers: Ryan Misiak (15-41-56), Matt Berry (23-25-48), Isaac Kohls (16-20-36)
Leading goaltender: Joel Vienneau (13-15-4, 3.83), Paul Berrafato (9-8-4, 3.44)
Leading +/-: Carter Foguth (+12)
Leading PIM: Micki Mihalovich (236)

Ice
GF: 205 (1st)
GA: 142 (6th)

PP: 22.3% (1st) / PK: 85.71% (6th) / PIM: 818 (4th)
Home record: 17-8-2
Last 5: 5-0-0 Last 10: 6-4-0
Leading scorers: Blake Coleman (30-51-81), Daniil Tarasov (31-33-64), Brian Ferlin (23-38-61)
Leading goaltender: Casey DeSmith (20-10-2, 2.50), Jon Gillies (13-6-2, 2.71)
Leading +/-: Blake Coleman (+45)
Leading PIM: Will Aide (126)

On paper, this looks like a good matchup for the Ice. The USHL's highest-scoring team against the league's most porous defense, and the league's hottest team against a team that's lost five straight. And, of course, the Ice had a convincing 7-0 win last Sunday. Muskegon's last game was an 8-4 defeat. However, the teams have played two OT games against each other. This is an important game for both teams -- the Ice trying to climb into second place and get a first-round bye in the USHL Playoffs, while the Lumberjacks are trying to clinch a playoff spot. Currently, Muskegon is seven points clear of seventh-place Waterloo, with the Black Hawks having eight games remaining and the Lumberjacks seven. Muskegon is a first-year USHL team, although the city is very familiar to Ice fans, as the International Hockey League version of the Lumberjacks competed against the Indianapolis Checkers and Indianapolis Ice from 1984 through 1995.