16-03-2025
Three More Teams Clinch Clark Cup Playoff Spots
Three more USHL teams clinched spots in the Clark Cup Playoffs Saturday night as the countdown to the post-season rolls on.
The Muskegon Lumberjacks, Madison Capitols and Youngstown Phantoms secured spots in the playoffs. The Jacks and Capitols won their respective games Saturday, while the Phantoms lost but still gained entry.
Muskegon got out the brooms, sweeping the Fargo Force with a 6-2 win in Fargo on Saturday to take the weekend series.
After the Force scored less than a minute into the game, the Jacks tied the score thanks to a one-timer by Jack Galanek off a 3-on-2 rush at 16:20 of the opening period.
The Jacks then took the lead on a power play 1:04 into the middle frame. Vaclav Nestrasil took a beautiful shot pass from Ivan Ryabkin and tapped in a shot from the back door for a 2-1 lead.
Muskegon took control from there, with four skaters ending up with multi-point nights. Stephen Peck saved 21 of 23 shots to move his record to 16-5-2-3.
Meanwhile, the Capitols were in Plymouth and came away with a 5-2 victory over the NTDP U18 squad. Diego Johnson led the way for Madison with two goals, helping the Caps clinch a playoff berth.
The Phantoms lost 3-2 to the Sioux Falls Stampede, but managed to clinch a berth in the post-season for the fourth straight year thanks to NTDP's loss.
The Phantoms captured a Clark Cup Championship in 2022-23, and hope to accomplish that feat again this post-season.
Youngstown is third in the Eastern Conference, one game ahead of the Capitols and one behind Muskegon with nine games left in the regular season.
