Numbers can often be deceiving. The Waterloo Black Hawks and Muskegon Lumberjacks came into Game 1 of the Clark Cup Final as two of the top defensive teams in the post-season.
Friday night, the two teams combined for 13 goals as the Hawks came away with an 8-5 victory to claim a 1-0 lead in the best-of-five series.
Teddy Townsend produced a hat trick, and Reid Morich added four points as a Young Arena crowd of 2,956 watched an exciting game.
Townsend completed his feat before the midpoint of regulation. It was his second hatty of the post-season.
The Lumberjacks scored early to take a 1-0 lead. At 1:29, Jack Galanek got the puck behind the net to Jack Christ, who found Finn McLaughlin sneaking down the slot. Christ sent a perfect pass for McLaughlin, who put a one-timer in the net.
It only took the Hawks nine seconds to answer. After they won a faceoff, Ty Mason stepped into the offensive zone and scored on a long, low shot from the right side.
The Hawks grabbed the lead with two more goals scored just 22 seconds apart at the midway point of the opening period. Townsend had the first one, cutting across the slot to his left and shooting back to his right for a go-ahead tally at 9:04.
On the next shift, Sam Huck added to the lead at 9:26, capitalizing when Nick Kosiba nudged the puck his way. Townsend produced his second of the period at 16:43. In transition, Reid Morich put the puck on Townsend’s stick with a pass across the slot. Townsend stickhandled Stephen Peck down before sliding in a low attempt.
Townsend completed his hat trick at the 8:33 mark of the middle frame.
Following an offensive zone faceoff win, Townsend fired a chance that was stopped, then collected his own rebound to make it a 5-1 game.Just nine days earlier, Townsend recorded a hatty against the Lincoln Stars. He now becomes the only junior-era Black Hawk to ever have a pair of three-goal nights during the playoffs.
That’s when Muskegon mounted their desperate comeback before intermission, pulling to within a goal. Vaclav Nestrasil started the rally from the edge of the crease at 11:59. Then the Lumberjacks added two more in the last three minutes before intermission. McLaughlin notched his second of the night on a shot through a screen from the high slot at 17:14.
Just over a minute later, Ivan Ryabkin and goalie Carter Casey ended up in the net together; a video review awarded the goal to Ryabkin, reversing the call on the ice.
Morich gave Waterloo some crucial breathing room just 1:11 into the third. This time it was Townsend on the setup; Morich received his pass near the top of the crease, yet still was able to stickhandle and push the puck in along the ice.
Less than five minutes remained when Grady Deering added the only special teams goal of the game. Nine seconds into the advantage at 15:14, Deering chipped in the rebound of Dylan Compton’s one-timer.
Each team then scored one with the Muskegon net empty. At 16:25, the Lumberjacks were skating 6-on-5 when Chase Stefanek banged in an opportunity from the top of the crease. However, Morich answered into Muskegon’s open net with 49.7 to go, sealing the 8-5 win.
Waterloo has now won seven consecutive home ice victories, setting a new team playoff record. The Jacks had the slight edge in the shots department, 36-34.
The Black Hawks went 1-for-2 on the power play, while the Jacks were failed on their only opportunity.
Game 2 is on Saturday in Waterloo, with puck drop set for 6:35 Pm CT.