THE VOYAGERS RETURN TO ACTION FOR HOME OPENING WEEKEND AT LAKESHORE MUSKEGON’S NEW PRO TEAM MARKS HOME DEBUT SATURDAY NIGHT & SUNDAY AFTERNOON
It’s the home opening weekend coming up for Muskegon’s new pro hockey team. Under the direction of Team Owner and Head Coach Cody Mulready, the Muskegon Voyagers will swing back into MIHL (Michigan Independent Hockey League) league action with a pair of appearances at their hockey home of the Lakeshore Sports Center, Muskegon.
The Voyagers will be formally unveiled as Muskegon’s new pro hockey team this Saturday night, February 27th at 7:00 pm when they broach a two-games homestand series against The Prospects Team. The two teams will tangle in a Sunday matinee encore encounter in a 12:00 noon opening face-off.
Plenty of excellent, choice seats are available for both of the Voyagers home performances this upcoming weekend.
Inaugurating this abbreviated, abridged season the past weekend, the Voyagers divided a two-games’ series at Gaylord as they tackled their principal early-season rivals, the Gaylord Snow. In game one on Saturday night, Muskegon celebrated its first victory in its first ever game as a bona fide professional hockey franchise, extracting a hard-earned, dramatic comeback 4-3 overtime success. Former Reeths-Puffer scoring standout Jeremy Joyce delivered the ultimate GWG, striking early in the five minutes extra session at the 1:26 mark. The victors actually surmounted previous deficits of 1-0 and 2-1 to achieve their opening night triumph. Chris Corgan, Jason Wrbelis and Skylar Vining also made connection while defenseman Joe DeFay assisted twice. Calvin College alum Trevor Boardway was supreme in goal for the Muskegonites, rebuffing 48 of 51-shots as the home-standing Snow outshot the visitors, 51-44. Two of Gaylord’s three strikes were stoked on the power play, going 2-8 with the extra man band while the Voyagers manpower was totally negated, going 0-8. Joyce earned the game’s #1 Star through his OT histrionics; Boardway was acclaimed #2 Star.
In Sunday’s rematch, the Voyagers gained 2-1 and 3-2 advantages before being trimmed, 5-4. A Gaylord three-goals second period resurgence, featuring GTG from its special teams (1-PPG / 1-SHG) represented the climactic juncture of the contest. Wrbelis, the Aquinas College star, spurred Muskegon’s second consecutive four-goals offensive output, engineering 3-points on 1-goal and 2-assists. Corgan, like Wrbelis, notched his second in as many games while Luke McCarthy and Corbin (CJ) Emery caged singletons. Once again, the Gaylord special teams were superior to Muskegon’s as the Snow brewed 1-PPG (1-2) in addition to that key, touch-in-the-clutch SHG. For the weekend series, Gaylord’s power play was 3-10, going 3 for the last 5. The Voyagers man advantage squadron was a desolate at 0-9.
VOYAGERS TOP SCORERS:
21- Jason Wrbelis 2(2-2-4) 14-Skylar Vining 2(1-0-1)
18- Chris Corgan 2(2-1-3) 89-Luke McCarthy 1(1-0-1)
13- Jeremy Joyce 2(1-1-2) 25-CJ Emery 2(1-0-1)
5- Joe DeFay 2(0-2-2)