If there is one common theme in the 2025 Clark Cup Final, it would be rising above adversity.
The Waterloo Black Hawks and Muskegon Lumberjacks have each needed to dig deep and find resilience in a series that will go the requisite five games to determine who will walk away with this year’s Clark Cup Trophy.
Dealing with the highs and lows of a long season is something every team should expect if they are to put themselves in a position to walk away with the ultimate prize.
No one knows this better than the Lumberjacks, who have endured everything from illness to suspension during the regular season. Now here they are, one win away from their first Clark Cup in franchise history.
“We’ve been through all the different types of adversity you could be through,” Lumberjacks forward David Klee said following his team's 3-2 overtime loss in Game 4. “Sickness, suspensions, injury, whatever it may be. We fought through it all year long, so why not give ourselves one more test?”
That final test will commence Tuesday as the series returns to Young Arena in Waterloo tied at 2-2.
After a combined 18 goals were scored over the first two games in Iowa, both teams settled into a defensive battle of wills that resulted in Games 3 and 4 requiring sudden-death bonus hockey to determine an outcome.
The Jacks grabbed a 2-1 victory in Game 3 when Ivan Ryabkin buried a shot into the back of the net midway through the second overtime.
After Vaclav Nestrasil gave Muskegon a 1-0 lead with 5:59 remaining in the first period, the Hawks finally tied the score early in the third period on a Reid Daavvettila tally off a rebound.
Each team had a chance to end things in the first overtime, but a missed try by the Hawks and a Jacks shot that crossed the goal line after the horn had already sounded forced a second extra frame.
“It was one for the ages in Muskegon hockey history,” Lumberjacks head coach Parker Burgess told reporters following the game. “Two really great teams battling, double overtime, both goalies were absolutely incredible. Every kid on both sides tonight gave it everything they had.”
Game 4 was just as heart-pounding, although it took only one overtime for Waterloo to prevail 3-2 on Chase Jette’s game-winner just 95 seconds into the extra frame.
Easton Hewson got Waterloo on the board first late in the middle frame before Grady Deering stretched the lead to 2-0 in the third.
That’s when the real fun began.
After pulling goalie Shika Gadzhiev for the extra attacker, the Jacks cut the lead to 2-1 on a Teddy Spitznagel redirect. Xavier Veilleux launched a rocket that ripped into the net with less than a second left in regulation. The Jacks had pulled off a miracle, tying the score when many thought the game was over.
That shot could have given Muskegon the momentum they would need to send them home in possession of the Clark Cup. Once again, the Hawks dug deep and came up with a dagger of their own from Jette to force one final game.
“For them to keep their composure with the way the last two minutes (of regulation) played out, was just outstanding,” Waterloo head coach Matt Smaby said after Game 4. “I’m really proud of our guys for that, and (it was) great to find a way to win.”
The stage is set for one more showdown, one more chance to see which team has enough left in the tank to pass the final test. Puck drop for Tuesday’s Game 5 is set for 6:35 Pm CT.