Latest news with #ClarkCupFinal
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Smaby Moving On From Black Hawks, Heads Back To The College Ranks
Matt Smaby's success leading the Waterloo Black Hawks for four seasons has now led to a new beginning in a familiar spot. The Hawks' head coach was named the University of North Dakota's new associate head coach on Wednesday. This isn't the first time Smaby has been with the Fighting Hawks. From 2003 to 2006, he skated as a defenseman in Grand Forks. Then after Smaby concluded his professional playing career, he returned to North Dakota in 2017 and spent two seasons as a volunteer assistant. During the summer of 2021, Smaby was named the Black Hawks head coach. He compiled a 137-94-17 USHL regular-season record, plus a 14-12 mark during the playoffs. Smaby ranks second in the junior-era Waterloo record book for both regular season and playoff victories. In 2021-22, Smaby's Black Hawks were 28-30-4; however, the campaign's most memorable moments came after the regular season ended. Waterloo upset the Lincoln Stars during a road-only first round playoff series, then advanced to meet the Sioux City Musketeers. The Hawks were the only team to push the eventual Clark Cup champions to the brink of elimination. Smaby coached his first two NHL Draft picks in 2021-22: defenseman Sam Rinzel and goaltender Emmett Croteau. A year later, Waterloo improved to 40-21-1. It was just the third 40-win regular season in team history, highlighted by a pair of seven-game win streaks covering much of November and January. The Hawks finished second in the USHL Western Conference. Smaby assisted Aaron Pionk's multiseason transition from forward to defense; Pionk was ultimately selected during the fifth round of the 2023 NHL Draft by the Minnesota Wild. In 2023-24, the Hawks claimed third place in the Western Conference with a 35-25-2 record. Smaby also pursued an opportunity to lead the U.S. Junior Select Team during the 2023 World Junior A Challenge, capturing a bronze medal in Truro, Nova Scotia. In league play, forward John Mustard came to prominence and was eventually chosen by the Chicago Blackhawks during the third round of the 2024 NHL Draft. Mustard paced Waterloo with 29 goals. The 2024-25 Hawks reached the Clark Cup Final for the first time in 11 seasons. Smaby directed Waterloo to post-season series victories against the Tri-City Storm, Sioux Falls Stampede, and Lincoln Stars following a 34-18-10 regular slate. The Hawks fell in Game Five of the best-of-five Clark Cup Final against the Muskegon Lumberjacks Tuesday. In December, Smaby also had an encore stint with the U.S. Junior Select Team, winning gold during the 2024 World Junior A Challenge in Camrose, Alberta. At North Dakota, Smaby will be reunited with former Black Hawks General Manager Bryn Chyzyk. Last month, Chyzyk was named to the Fighting Hawks' staff as assistant coach and general manager. The Black Hawks will begin an immediate search for the team's next head coach in preparation for the 2025-26 USHL season.
Yahoo
17-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Lumberjacks Edge Waterloo In Double-Overtime Thriller
After splitting the first two games of the Clark Cup Final in Iowa, the Waterloo Black Hawks and Muskegon Lumberjacks shifted the best-of-five series to Trinity Health Arena in Muskegon Friday night.
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Former Lumberjack Looking To Bring A Stanley Cup To Carolina
While the Muskegon Lumberjacks are focused on the Clark Cup Final, one of their former players is trying to help his team win a Stanley Cup. Andrei Svechnikov and his Carolina Hurricanes are on the verge of eliminating the Washington Capitals in their Eastern Conference Second Round Series. The Canes took a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series with a 5-2 victory Monday night at Lenovo Center. Svechnikov put the game on ice with an empty-netter late in the third to secure the victory. In Saturday night's Game 3 win, a 4-0 shutout, he lit the lamp to put Carolina ahead 1-0 after firing a shot past Caps netminder Logan Thompson following a faceoff loss. Svechnikov almost scored earlier in the game after hitting the post. "After every faceoff, we have a plan kind of, but to be honest, that one wasn't planned," Svechnikov said after the game. "I just saw the puck was loose and made the move to get closer to the puck and shot it.' The season hasn't all been a bed of roses for Svechnikov. He returned for the 2024-25 regular season after suffering an ACL tear in 2023. He recorded 48 points (20-28-48) in 72 games, but had just nine 5v5 points in the first 37 games. Things have certainly turned around for Svechnikov during the playoffs. The native of Barnaul, Russia, who spent one season in the USHL with the Jacks, currently paces the Hurricanes in goals during the post-season with seven. "He always plays with the same kind of passion and pace," Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour told The Hockey News. "He puts the work in, and I think that's the most critical part of anything. Things aren't always going to go your way, but it's about how you respond. He's hard on himself when things aren't going well and that's obviously why love him, because he does care." In the Canes' first-round series against the New Jersey Devils, which Carolina took in five games, Svechnikov notched a hat trick. It was the second post-season hatty of his career, and he is the only player in franchise history to score a hat trick during the playoffs. "I love this time of the year,' Svechnikov said following the game. "Playing a physical game and just trying to do everything I can to help my team win the game." During the 2016-17 season with Muskegon, Svechnikov made the USHL All-Rookie and All-Star First Teams and was voted Rookie of the Year. He recorded 29 goals and 29 assists for 58 points in 48 games with the Jacks that season. The 25-year-old left-shot forward was drafted as the second overall pick by the Hurricanes in the 2018 NHL Draft. Now in his seventh NHL season, he's hoping to finish strong and lead the Canes to a Stanley Cup. Carolina could get one step closer to that goal Thursday with a chance to eliminate the Capitals on the road and advance to the Eastern Conference Finals. The Lumberjacks, meanwhile, resume their Clark Cup Final series against the Waterloo Black Hawks Friday, with that best-of-five series knotted at a game apiece. As they fight to bring home the trophy, they'll be cheering on one of their own to get his.
