While the Anderson Cup has been decided and all 12 Clark Cup Playoff spots are set, some questions are still unanswered as the final weekend of the regular season approaches. Here are three things to watch for.
Stars To Be Presented With Anderson Cup
The Lincoln Stars are this year’s winner of the Anderson Cup, given to the USHL team with the best regular-season record.
A presentation of the Cup will be made at the Stars’ game Friday night against the Tri-City Storm at the Icebox.
Lincoln (43-15-2-0) won the Anderson Cup last weekend with a pair of wins on the road against the Madison Capitols. The Stars scored three times in the second period and held the Capitols without a shot in that frame to win, 3-1, before earning a 4-3 overtime win the next night, thanks to two goals by Dashel Oliver.
Regardless of any results this weekend, the Stars will finish the regular season with the best record in the USHL. They will also have home-ice advantage for the duration of the 2025 Clark Cup Playoffs. The Stars will play Game 1 of the second round at the Ice Box either Apr. 18 or 19.
This is the franchise's fourth Anderson Cup, which ties it with the Des Moines Buccaneers and the defunct Thunder Bay Flyers for the second-most in USHL history, behind the Omaha Lancers and the Green Bay Gamblers with five apiece.
Obviously, the Stars are not content to settle for the Anderson Cup; they would like to finish the job with a Clark Cup. A total of 22 teams have won the Anderson Cup and the Clark Cup in the same season in the USHL's junior era.
Ten teams in the league's first 11 seasons (1979-90) won the Anderson Cup and the Clark Cup in the same campaign. Over the last 11 seasons, only two teams have won both trophies in the same season: Chicago in 2020-21 and Fargo in 2023-24.
First-Round Byes Still Up For Grabs
While all 12 playoff spots have been determined, there is still uncertainty regarding positioning with two games left in the 2024-25 regular season.
The Eastern Conference race remains tight, as four teams are within two points of the top of the standings.
The Youngstown Phantoms (40-18-0-2, 82 points), Madison Capitols (38-17-4-1, 81 points), Dubuque Fighting Saints (39-18-1-2, 81 points) and Muskegon Lumberjacks (36-16-4-4, 80 points) are all vying for the top spot as well as a first-round playoff bye. This will go to the top two teams in each conference.
The No. 5 seed in the East is also undecided, with the Green Bay Gamblers and Cedar Rapids RoughRiders fighting for that position.
The Phantoms control their own fate and will face the NTDP U17s in their final two games of the regular season. The Capitols and Fighting Saints play each other on Friday, with both teams deadlocked at 81 points. Madison currently holds the tiebreaker over Dubuque.
The Lumberjacks also have an opportunity to make up some ground in the standings with a home-and-home matchup against the last-place Chicago Steel.
It’s a hockey fan’s dream, having the regular season mean something at the very end.
Moore Named Head Coach of 2025 U.S. Under-18 Men's National Team
USA Hockey National Team Development Program (NTDP) head coach Greg Moore will lead the U.S. Under-18 Men’s National Team at the 2025 IIHF Under-18 Men’s World Championship.
Moore will serve as the team's head coach for the first time and returns to the tournament for the first time since 2017, where he served as an assistant coach for Team USA and helped it win gold in Poprad, Slovakia.
Additionally, Moore was on staff of the 2024 U.S. Men’s National Team at the IIHF Men’s World Championship in Ostrava, Czechia.
The tournament is slated for Apr. 23-May 3 in Frisco and Allen, Texas, and the U.S. will compete in Group B alongside Czechia, Germany, Sweden and Switzerland.