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United States Hockey League (USHL)

Clark Cup Rewind: Standouts And Takeaways From 2025 USHL Playoffs

Clark Cup Rewind: Standouts And Takeaways From 2025 USHL Playoffs

The road to the Clark Cup is complete as Muskegon sits atop the USHL. Take a look back at the league's top playoff performers and storylines along the way

May 21, 2025 by Jordan McAlpine
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The 2025 Clark Cup Playoffs are over as Muskegon hoisted the coveted trophy for the first time in franchise history Tuesday night, prevailing with a 4-3 win in Waterloo.

Muskegon forward Jack Christ scored 6:01 into overtime, completing a hat trick and sending the Lumberjacks back home with the hardware.

However, the road to Tuesday night was a long one, as the USHL Playoffs started way back on April 14.

There’s been several individual standouts, tense moments and interesting storylines in between, culminating with a thrilling Game 5 in Waterloo. Here’s what stood out during the USHL’s 2025 postseason.

Draft Prospects On Display

Whether it be 2025 prospects Ivan Ryabkin, Brendan McMorrow or Ryker Lee, or 2024 draft picks Lucas Van Vliet (VGK) and Xavier Veilleux (NYI), a number of promising young players elevated their game in the playoffs.

Ryabkin finished second among USHL skaters with 16 playoff points, including a five-point game (3-2-5) in Dubuque on April 26. Ryabkin’s seven playoff goals were also tied for fourth among USHL skaters.

Lee had six points (3-3-6) over Madison’s six playoff games and Van Vliet led Dubuque with 10 points (4-6-10) over his seven, including a pair of three-point games. Veilleux helped lead Muskegon to its title and had eight playoff points (3-5-8), which was tied for third among USHL defensemen.

McMorrow was one of the league’s playoff standouts with 14 points (7-7-14) and his speed was a difference-maker. The DU commit also netted a pair of game-winners.

Capitols Impress

Madison finished third in the Eastern Conference with 84 points and earned 39 regular-season wins, both of which set franchise records. Madison rode a 6-2-2 stretch into the playoffs and swept Green Bay in the first round.

The Capitols advanced to the conference semifinals for the second time in franchise history — 2021-22 being the other — and won Game 1 against Dubuque, but ultimately dropped the next three.

Stars Start Strong, Fall Short

Lincoln won the Anderson Cup for the fourth time in franchise history and put together an incredible regular season, finishing atop the USHL with 91 points, a plus-106 goal differential and .734 win percentage.

The Stars earned a first-round bye and started the playoffs strong, sweeping Sioux City in the Western Conference Semifinals. However, Lincoln ran into a red-hot Waterloo club in the conference finals and dropped the series, 3-1.

The Stars, who scored a USHL-leading 272 regular-season goals, were shutout in their final two games by Waterloo goaltender Carter Casey. Lincoln last won the Clark Cup in 2003.

Road Warriors

Muskegon’s road to the Clark Cup featured plenty of road success. The Lumberjacks finished fourth in the Eastern Conference and played seven of their 14 playoff games away from home, going 6-1-0 in those contests. 

The Lumberjacks out-scored their opponents 33-22 in road games and went 4-0 against the top two teams in their conference – Youngstown and Dubuque. Muskegon also won two of the three games in Waterloo and went 11-3-0 in the playoffs overall.

MVP For A Reason

Tynan Lawrence isn’t draft-eligible until 2026 and the BU commit is still just 16. He’ll turn 17 on August 3.

However, Lawrence played well beyond his age, and he was named the USHL’s Most Valuable Player of the playoffs. Lawrence enjoyed a terrific regular season and was one of three finalists for the Rookie of the Year Award thanks to his 25 goals and 54 points. Yet he found another gear this past month.

Lawrence led all USHL skaters with 18 playoff points and was a threat from seemingly anywhere in the offensive zone. The left-shot forward scored Muskegon’s first goal in Game 5 and had seven multi-point playoff efforts.

Townsend Leads Waterloo Explosion

Waterloo scored a USHL-leading 60 goals during the playoffs and netted five goals or more six different times. The Black Hawks wasted little time finding the score sheet too, as Waterloo lit the lamp nine times in its first-round sweep of Tri-City. Waterloo scored 212 goals during the regular season, which ranked eighth in the league.

That offensive charge was led by forward Teddy Townsend, who ranked second among USHL skaters with nine playoff goals. The Minnesota commit had points in nine of his 15 playoff games and had seven points against Muskegon.

Final Thriller

From 13 combined goals in Game 1 to a controversial tying goal in Game 4, or simply the final three games all requiring overtime, fans got their money’s worth throughout the Clark Cup Final.

A sellout crowd of 3,500 packed Waterloo’s Young Arena Tuesday night and whether they were in the arena or watching online, fans were treated to another thriller – a constant theme of the series.

Quite the bow on the 2024-25 USHL season.

Clark Cup Playoffs Statistical Leaders

Goals

  • David Deputy, F, Muskegon – 10
  • Teddy Townsend, F, Waterloo – 9
  • Tynan Lawrence, F, Muskegon – 8
  • Kaeden Hawkins, F, Waterloo – 8
  • Four players tied with 7

Points

  • Tynan Lawrence, F, Muskegon – 18
  • Ivan Ryabkin, F, Muskegon – 16
  • Teddy Townsend, F, Waterloo – 15
  • Reid Morich, F, Waterloo – 15
  • Three players tied with 14

Points Per Game

  • Aidan Park, F, Green Bay – 1.50
  • Will Zellers, F, Green Bay – 1.50
  • Lucas Van Vliet, F, Dubuque – 1.43
  • Tynan Lawrence, F, Muskegon – 1.29
  • Joseph McGraw, F, Sioux Falls – 1.25

Save Percentage

  • Shikhabutdin Gadzhiev, Muskegon – .935
  • Liam Beerman, Dubuque – .922
  • Carter Casey, Waterloo – .918
  • Samuel Urban, Sioux City – .908

GAA

  • Shikhabutdin Gadzhiev, Muskegon – 2.03
  • Liam Beerman, Dubuque – 2.27
  • Samuel Urban, Sioux City -- 2.43
  • Carter Casey, Waterloo -- 2.53

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