Game Recaps
Christ Hattrick Lifts Jacks to First Ever Clark Cup Championship
WATERLOO, IA – Entering game 5 of the 2025 Clark Cup Final, Jack Christ (Chaska, MN) had two goals through the postseason. His hat trick in game 5 included the overtime winner to help the Jacks defeat the Waterloo Black Hawks 4-3 (OT) and secure the first Clark Cup in organization history.
The Jacks struck first and took a 2-0 lead into the first intermission. Tynan Lawrence (Fredericton, NB, CAN) opened the scoring with his USHL-leading 18th playoff point just 3:53 into the contest. David Deputy (Gurnee, IL) carried the puck into the offensive zone on the near side of the ice and dropped a pass off for Lawrence at the top of the circle. Cutting towards the middle of the slot, Lawrence ripped a shot under the body of Carter Casey to make it 1-0 Muskegon.
Just over ten minutes later, Christ made it 1-0 Jacks with a laser beam of a shot off the rush. Finn McLaughlin (Canmore, AB, CAN) sent the puck up the near side to Chase Stefanek (Yorba Linda, CA) on his way through the neutral zone. As he crossed the opposing blue line, Stefanek sent a pass across the slot to Christ, who wired a shot to the top corner to make it 2-0 before the end of the period.
Coming out of the break, the Hawks scored a pair of goals to tie the game before the start of the third and final period of regulation. Brendan McMorrow was the recipient of a rebound off the near side of the ice 4:03 into the period. His one-timer brought the Hawks back to within a single goal with a 2-1 deficit.
The Jacks responded with a goal from David Klee (Castle Rock, CO) to take a 3-1 lead, but following a challenge from the Waterloo coaching staff, the goal was called back for goaltender interference.
Reid Morich took advantage of the opportunity and tied the game at the 16:11 mark with his 7th goal of the postseason. Teddy Townsend carried the puck down the near-side wall and around the back of the net. As he escaped on the far side, Townsend sent a pass in front for Morich to bang home.
It didn’t take long for Christ to score his second of the game to regain the Jacks lead in the third period. Stefanek carried the puck into the offensive zone in the middle of the ice and fired a shot off the pad of Carter Casey. The rebound popped to the near side, where Christ chopped it into the top corner just 1:54 into the final frame of regulation.
Ten minutes later, Hunter Ramos re-tied the game with a laser beam of a shot from the top of the far side circle. The 3-3 score line held through the end of regulation, and for the third time in as many games, the Jacks and Hawks needed overtime to find a winner.
6:01 into the overtime period, Christ ended the game with his third goal. Jack Galanek (Hopkinton, MA) got a drop pass from Christ on the far side of the ice as the two entered the offensive zone. Galanek returned the pass to Christ at the bottom of the circle. As Christ moved across the crease, he slid the puck under the goalie and into the net to mark the end of the 2024-25 season and crown the Lumberjacks as the kings of the USHL.
Power Play Pushes Jacks to Regular Season Finale Win 4-2 in Chicago
GENEVA, IL – The special teams were perfect on Saturday night for the Muskegon Lumberjacks (38-16-4-4, 84 pts.), leading the way to a season ending 4-2 win over top the Chicago Steel (20-36-5-1, 46 pts.)
The Steel took a 1-0 lead in the first period at the 13:25 mark, thanks to a goal from Aidan Dyer. As he made his way deep into the Lumberjacks' zone, Dyer played pass with Jackson Crowder and received a return pass at the bottom of the far side circle. Dyer lifted a backhanded shot into the top corner of the net to give Chicago the early lead.
The power play for Muskegon was red hot, going a perfect 3/3 on the night, starting with a game-tying goal at the 5:12 mark of the second period. Tynan Lawrence (Fredericton, NB, CAN) blocked a clearing attempt from the Chicago penalty killers on the near side of the ice and carried the puck towards the middle of the slot. With the puck on his forehand, Lawrence ripped a shot to the back of the net for his 25th goal of the season.
Chicago responded just over 10 minutes later to regain their lead before the second intermission. Luke Goukler carried the puck into the offensive zone on the far side of the ice all the way down the wall and behind the net to the near side. As Goukler reached the top of the circle Chris Reiniger dropped from the blue line and received a pass on the far side of the ice before sending a shot across the goal line with 4 minutes to play in the middle period.
The Lumberjacks came out with three goals in the third period to tie the game, take the lead, and create some separation. The first goal came 4:19 into the frame on another power play for the Jacks. Lawrence received the puck on the near-side wall and fired a shot towards the top corner of the net. Despite the shot being stopped, it provided a rebound in the blue paint for Ivan Ryabkin (Balakovo, RUS) to tap across the goal line.
Only 50 seconds later, the Jacks were back on the power play. This time, Ryabkin got a pass on the far side of the ice from Luka Radivojevic (Trencin, SVK). In one motion, Ryabkin caught the pass and fired one across the slot to David Deputy (Gurnee, IL) for a nearly empty net one timer to give the Jacks a 3-2 lead.
Chicago pulled their goalie in a last ditch effort to tie the game late in regulation, but as he stepped onto the bench Xavier Veilleux (L'Ancienne-Lorrette, QC, CAN) fired a shot from the top of his own circles down the ice into the empty net to make it 4-2 Muskegon.
Shikhabutdin Gadzhiev (Makhachkala, RUS) (19-10-2-1) stopped 23 of the 25 shots sent his way to earn the win on his record. Jack Parsons (12-18-3-1) earned the loss with 28 saves on 32 shots in the crease for the Steel.
The Jacks await the final scores from a pair of games around the league to find out whether they will host a first-round matchup or take advantage of a first-round bye before hosting the start of the second round next weekend.
Stay tuned on social media @muskegonjacks as well as at muskegonlumberjacks.com for more information regarding the post season schedule.
Saturday Sweep Send Jacks to Post Season. Defeat Fargo 6-2
FARGO, ND – The game started with a goal against for the Muskegon Lumberjacks (31-13-4-4, 70 pts.) after the Fargo Force (25-22-4-2) scored less than a minute from the opening faceoff. From there, it was all about the Jacks, who picked up a 6-2 win to sweep the weekend series and clinch a spot in the 2025 Clark Cup Playoffs.
Just :33 seconds into the game Jonah Aegerter pushed a rebound to the back of the net to give Fargo a 1-0 lead. The original shot came from the middle of the slot and former Lumberjack Cameron Aucoin, who finished the weekend with 3 points against his former team.
At the other end of the period the Jacks tied the game thanks to a 3-on-2 rush led by David Klee (Castle Rock, CO) as he entered the offensive zone Klee carried the puck down to the near side circle before dropping a pass back to Xavier Veilleux (L'Ancienne-Lorrette, QC, CAN), the third man high. Rather than shooting, Veilleux sent a pass across the slot to Jack Galanek (Hopkinton, MA) for a one-time goal at the 16:20 mark of the frame.
Starting the second period on the power play, the Jacks took full advantage of the opportunity scoring 1:04 into the middle stanza. Teddy Spitznagel (Bloomfield Hills, MI) got the puck to the near side of the ice for Ivan Ryabkin (Balakovo, RUS) at the bottom of the circle. Assessing his options, Ryabkin saw Vaclav Nestrasil (Praha, CZE) standing alone on the far side of the crease. A perfect shot pass to the back door provided an easy back door tap in goal for Nestrasil to give the Jacks a 2-1 lead.
Later in the frame, the Jacks added another power play goal to take a 3-1 lead into the second intermission. This time Ryabkin was the goal scorer on a play that looked similar to the last. Tynan Lawrence (Fredericton, NB, CAN) and Luka Radivojevic (Trencin, SVK) worked to get Ryabkin the puck at the bottom of the near circle. While looking towards the slot Ryabkin fired a shot between the legs of the goalie for his second point of the game, and 19th in 18 games this season.
It didn't take long for the Jacks to open the scoring in the third period either. 4:55 into the period Klee held the puck on the far side of the ice and fired a tough angle shot across the crease and into the near side corner of the net for his second point of the game. Bauer Berry (Grand Forks, ND) and Galanek had the assists as the Jacks finished the game with four skaters recording multi-point scorelines.
Less than a minute later Fargo responded with a goal of their own to bring the game back to a 2-goal deficit. Eero Butella fired a pass to the near side of the Jacks zone for Aucoin who sent it back across the slot to Hayes Hundley. The shot mainly was stopped, but trickled across the goal line for his 4th goal of the season.
Just as they did in the first period, the Jacks responded with a goal a few minutes later. Lawrence got the puck in the near side corner for Chase Stefanek (Yorba Linda, CA) and worked his way along the goal line. David Deputy (Gurnee, IL) caused havoc at the top of the crease taking away the attention of the goalie allowing Lawrence to fire a shot short side high for his 22nd goal of the season.
Before the end of regulation with just over 6 minutes left, Spitznagel scored, but the goal was called off following a video review of the play. As a result, The Jacks won an offensive zone faceoff and sent the puck into the near side corner of the zone. Carter Sanderson (Pierre, SD) slid the puck to Jack Christ (Chaska, MN) who carried it towards the back of the net. As he did, he slid a pass to the slot where Drew Stewart (Minnetonka, MN) received the puck and ripped it to the back of the net.
Another strong showing for Stephen Peck (New York, NY) (16-5-2-3) saw him stop 21 of 23 shots for the win on his record. Dane Callaway (4-6-2-0) made 34 saves on 40 shots against and earned the loss on his record.
Next up for the Jacks is a lengthy nine-game homestand starting with a three-game weekend against the Green Bay Gamblers. Tickets start at just $10 for an incredible gameday experience. Get your tickets, game times, and more information by visiting muskegonlumberjacks.com