Saturday, May 6, 0215
Future Stars Meet for Clark Cup
USHL title on the line as Muskegon, Sioux Falls faceoff in best-of-five series starting Saturday.
Future NCAA stars will face off for the USHL championship beginning this Saturday as the Muskegon Lumberjacks and Sioux Falls Stampede meet in the Clark Cup Final.
Nearly every player on the ice in the best-of-five series has committed to an NCAA Division I school, with 41 commits headed to 26 schools on the two rosters. Future teammates will battle each other while future rivals get a jump-start on college competition.
Saturday and Sunday’s games, both at Muskegon, are set to start at 7:15 p.m. ET. Friday and Sunday, May 15 and 17, the series shifts to Sioux Falls, while Muskegon will host Game 5, if necessary, on Wednesday, May 20.
Both Muskegon and Sioux Falls were the fourth seed in their respective conferences, a reflection of the parity in the USHL.
Muskegon, with 19 commits, has been led by defenseman Corey Shueneman, a Western Michigan recruit. His 10 points in 9 playoff games lead all USHL defensemen. Another future Bronco, Griffen Molino, is tied for second on the team with future North Dakota defenseman Christian Wolanin with 8 points. Minnesota recruit Eric Schierhorn has a .922 saev percentage for the Lumberjacks.
Sioux Falls boasts 22 commitments, including three headed to Minnesota State. Northern Michigan commit Troy Loggins leads all USHL players with 8 goals and 13 points in the playoffs. In all the Stampede feature four of the top five playoff scorers, with Mikey Eyssimont (St. Cloud State), Dakota Joshua (Ohio State) and Cooper Marody (Michigan) trailing Loggins. Goaltender Stefanos Lekkas, headed to Vermont, has a .926 save percentage for the Stampede.
Full Schedule (Times local)
Game 1: Saturday, May 9, 7:15 PM – Sioux Falls @ Muskegon
Game 2: Sunday, May 10, 7:15 PM – Sioux Falls @ Muskegon
Game 3: Friday, May 15, 7:05 PM – Muskegon @ Sioux Falls
Game 4: Sunday, May 17, 6:05 PM – Muskegon @ Sioux Falls**
Game 5: Wednesday, May 20, 7:15 PM – Sioux Falls @ Muskegon**
**if necessary
NCAA Division I Commitments by Team
| Muskegon Lumberjacks | Sioux Falls Stampede | ||
| Joseph Cecconi | Michigan | Kieffer Bellows | Boston University |
| Robbie DeMontis | Yale | Nicholas Blachman | Lake Superior State |
| Tyler Drevitch | Merrimack | Trey Bradley | Colorado College |
| Mitch Eliot | Michigan State | Arthur Brey | St. Lawrence |
| William Graber | Dartmouth | Dillon Eichstadt | Bemidji State |
| Trevor Hamilton | Penn State | Mikey Eyssimont | St. Cloud State |
| Max Humitz | Lake Superior State | Dakota Joshua | Ohio State |
| Matt Iacopelli | Western Michigan | Stefanos Lekkas | Vermont |
| Mason Jobst | Ohio State | Clint Lewis | Minnesota State |
| David Keefer | Michigan State | Troy Loggins | Northern Michigan |
| Michael Latorella | Ohio State | Cooper Marody | Michigan |
| Tom Marchin | Brown | Matt Nuttle | Cornell |
| Griffen Molino | Western Michigan | Logan O’Connor | Denver |
| Dante Palecco | Yale | Collin Peters | Northern Michigan |
| Eric Schierhorn | Minnesota | John Michael Piotrowski | Yale |
| Corey Schueneman | Western Michigan | Chris Pohlkamp | Bowling Green |
| Ryan Siroky | Miami | Joey Raats | Arizona State |
| Keegan Ward | Northern Michigan | Ryan Schwalbe | Minnesota State |
| Christian Wolanin | North Dakota | Jack Suter | Air Force |
| Chaz Switzer | Miami | ||
| Parker Tuomie | Minnesota State | ||
| Daniel Warpecha | Dartmouth | ||