The Green Bay Gamblers will play a pair of games this weekend on Friday, October 14 and Saturday October 15 against the Muskegon Lumberjacks at the Resch Center. This will be the first matchup of the year against Muskegon. The last time Green Bay faced the Lumberjacks was last season in a 3-2 loss at the Resch Center on April 10. The Gamblers went 3-6 against Muskegon last year.
The Gamblers start the year with a 2-2-1 record and are currently fourth in the USHL Eastern Conference with 5 points. Some players to watch for include Matthew DiMarsico and Jayson Shaugabay.
While DiMarsico had a slower start to the season, he’s recently put together some good games for Green Bay. The forward has scored points in his last two games, with an assist in Friday’s game against Madison. The Penn State commit spent last year at Avon Old Farms, leading the team in points with 36. He also led the team in goals and assists, giving a balanced effort with 16 scores and 20 assists. Look for him to be a good contributor on the offensive side of the puck this season.
Shaugabay returns to the team after joining the Gamblers late last season. Before joining the black and yellow, he helped lead Warroad High School to second place in the Minnesota Class A State Championship. During this season, the forward led the team with 53 points and 24 goals. This season, the Minnesota Duluth commit has shown his playmaking, second on the team with three points, all coming from assists. This includes two straight games with points scored. He’ll hope to carry that momentum into this weekend.
The Lumberjacks have a 3-2 record to start the year. They are currently third in the USHL Eastern Conference with 6 points. Some players to watch for include Jake Richard and Ethan Whitcomb.
Richard returns to Muskegon as the highest points scorer from last season for the Lumberjacks. As a rookie, he scored 48 points, eighth best on the team. Coming into this season with high expectations
offensively, he’s picked up where he left off. In five games, he has six points on three goals and three assists, putting him tenth in league points to start the season. The UConn commit also has a good track record against Green Bay, scoring three goals and five assists against the Gamblers last season.
Whitcomb is another second-year player for Muskegon but didn’t have quite the production of Richard last season with 16 points in 44 games played. This season has been a different story. In five games, the forward has four goals and one assist. He’s third in USHL goals, scoring three in his last two games. He could be a pleasant surprise for Muskegon this season if he sustains this level of production.
Puck drop is at 7:05 PM on Friday and Saturday. You can get your tickets to the upcoming games at www.gamblershockey.com.
