3 Takeaways From March 28 Action In The USHL

Another Clark Cup Playoff spot was clinched Friday, while another team sits on the verge of punching their ticket.

Here are three observations from Friday’s action in the USHL.

The Force Are In

It was a mixed bag for the Fargo Force Friday night.

While they fell 6-1 to the Youngstown Phantoms, the defending Clark Cup champs still managed to clinch a spot in this year’s post-season.

The Force clinched in last year’s playoffs in mid-March and went on to capture their second Cup. It was an historic season, as they established a new USHL regular-season record with 50 wins, won the Western Conference and the Anderson Cup.

This season hasn’t been quite as dominant, but as any hockey lover knows, anything can happen once you’re in.

Storm Squeak By Omaha

One thing you can say for the Omaha Lancers: the season may be a lost cause, but they are still putting up a fight.

The Lancers (7-43-7, fell 1-0 Friday to the Tri-City Storm, but it took until overtime to determine an outcome.

Cooper Simpson’s overtime game-winning tally was the difference for the Storm (26-26-4.

Each club had equal puck possession in the first two minutes of the extra frame. Tri-City’s Colby Woogk chipped the puck to Simpson from the right wing boards of the Storm zone. In a two-on-one rush into Omaha territory, Simpson released a snapshot from the right faceoff circle that soared past Lancers goalie Daniel Moor at the 2:05 mark of the extra frame.

Storm netminder Michal Pradel halted each of the 21 shots he faced Friday to collect his first career USHL shutout.

The Storm victory, plus Des Moines’ regulation loss on Friday, means Tri-City needs one more standings point to clinch a Clark Cup Playoff berth. The home-and-home series shifts to Viaero Center when the Storm host Omaha on Youth Hockey Night presented by the Tri-City Youth Ice Hockey Association.

Caps Get The Better Of Jacks

Funny how quickly the tables can turn on a team.

The Muskegon Lumberjacks scored six goals in each of their three games last weekend. On Friday, it was the Madison Capitols who put up half a dozen in a 6-2 triumph over Muskegon in a critical matchup between two teams battling for playoff seeding in the Eastern Conference.

The Capitols scored three goals in the second period and another 40 seconds into the final frame to halt the Jacks’ six-game winning streak. Madison, meanwhile, has now won six straight.

Muskegon (34-14-4-4, 76 points) now trails the Caps (37-15-3-1, 78 points) by two points in the heated conference playoff race. With two more games left in the weekend, there is still a chance for the Jacks to win the series and pick up four points in the standings.