Breakout

Multiple season-bests were established when the Lumberjacks ended a four-game losing streak with a 6-2 blowout of the National Under-17 Team Saturday night at L.C. Walker Arena.

The most notable of the new benchmarks was the hat trick netted by Dakota Klecha, the Lumberjacks' first three-goal game since March 18, 2011, a span of 365 days (thanks leap year!) and 59 regular season contests. Current Colorado College forward Charlie Taft pumped in three against Cedar Rapids a year ago yesterday as part of a five-point night, still a single-game record for the USHL Jacks.

Rookie defenseman Zach Yoder also broke out last week, squeezing a shot past Green Bay's Michael Rotolo on Hockey for Health Day (Thursday) for his first USHL goal in his maiden league game. Check out Yoder's big moment and Klecha's huge night, among other pulsating highlights, below! Thanks to Lumberjacks Creative Services Director Brian Haberkorn for cutting the video:

The NCAA Division I men's hockey tournament begins this weekend with the regional round, in which the 16 teams invited compete for the right to make the Frozen Four, which will take place in Tampa, Fla., this year.

The Lumberjacks have multiple alumni who will see postseason action - for a full report see tomorrow's Lumberjacks Log - and there are four in-state schools alive for the prize: Ferris State, Western Michigan, Michigan State and Michigan. For a quick preview of the games, take a look at American hockey expert Chris Peters' latest post at the United States of Hockey.

Jacks left winger Max Shuart will be closely watching the Wolverines as he has committed to play for coach Red Berenson at Michigan following his USHL career. I caught up with the Northville, Mich., native prior to Friday's game against the Indiana Ice:

3-16 Shuart Interview by Matt Gajtka

To close today's post, this may be a little "inside baseball" for some people, but I say various phrases to punctuate goals during the games I broadcast because of one man: Pittsburgh Penguins play-by-play man Mike Lange. Mike was induced into the Hockey Hall of Fame for excellence in broadcasting and is still killing it on the Penguins Radio Network.

Here's a video in which he describes where he got the idea for post-goal merriment, so I suppose this is the ultimate origin of why I do it: