Four teams remain in the hunt for the Clark Cup
The United States Hockey League’s Eastern and Western Conference Finals are set to begin on Friday night as four teams remain in the hunt for the Clark Cup.
The top two teams in the Western Conference from the regular season, the Sioux Falls Stampede and Fargo Force, will square off beginning in Sioux City on Friday and Saturday before shifting back to Fargo the following weekend.
The Eastern Conference has seen its fair share of upsets, as the fifth-seed Muskegon Lumberjacks will host the sixth-seed Madison Capitols this weekend before heading back to Madison next weekend.
How each team made it here:
Sioux City Stampede
The Stampede finished the regular season with 89 points, the second-most in the USHL, trailing only the Youngstown Phantoms. After earning themselves a first-round bye, the Stampede took on the Lincoln Stars in Round 2.
The two teams split the first four games before returning to Sioux City for the winner-take-all Game 5. Merrimack College commit and former World Junior standout goaltender, Linards Feldbergs, stood tall in both elimination games for the Stampede, turning aside 25-of-26 shots in Game 4 before posting a 24-save shutout in Game 5.
J.J. Monteiro led the way offensively for the Stampede, recording three goals and two assists over the five-game series. The Stampede captain picked up where he left off in the regular season, where, over 55 games, the 20-year-old forward posted 51 points.
Detroit Red Wings’ fourth-round draft pick from 2025, Brent Solomon, made his mark in Game 5, recording both goals, including a short-handed game-winning goal in the 2-0 victory. The 19-year-old will be heading to the University of Wisconsin next season after recording 24 goals and 29 assists through 54 games this past season.
Fargo Force
The Force, like the Stampede, earned a bye through the USHL playoffs opening round after finishing with a 38-19-3-2 record. The Force took on the Sioux City Musketeers in round two, dispatching the Musketeers in four games.
The Force took both games in Fargo, 4-1 and 7-4, before heading to Sioux City for Game 3. The Musketeers staved off elimination with an overtime win in Game 3, before the Force claimed the series victory with a 3-2 double overtime win.
Force forward, and University of Wisconsin commit, Gavin Uhlenkamp, played hero in the series, recording five goals, including the double overtime series-clinching tally. Force goaltender Ajay White appeared in all four games, going 3-0-1-0 with a 2.00 goals-against average and 0.920 save percentage, building on what was a strong 2025-26 campaign.
Muskegon Lumberjacks
The Lumberjacks hit their stride at the right time, pulling off wins as the lower seed in their first two rounds. The Lumberjacks swept the fourth-seeded Cedar Rapids RoughRiders in round one before taking down the second-place Dubuque Fighting Saints three games to two in round two.
Lumberjacks goaltender Carl Axelsson has heated up over these playoffs, posting a record of 5-2-0-0, a 2.17 GAA and a 0.904 SV%. During the series against the Fighting Saints, Axelsson held the highest-scoring offense during the regular season to under three goals in four of the five games. The 19-year-old is committed to the University of Minnesota-Duluth for next year's campaign.
The Lumberjacks are being powered by both forward Viktor Nörringer and defenseman Adam Belusko. Nörringer was selected in the fifth round of the 2024 NHL draft by the Nashville Predators and leads the team with eight points through seven playoff games.
Belusko has recorded seven points through the team's seven playoff games, notching two in the Lumberjacks’ Game 5 win, including the game-winning goal at 5:59 of the second period. Belusko has represented his home country of Slovakia at the 2026 World Junior Championships and is committed to Lake Superior State University for next season.
Madison Capitols
After being the final team to clinch a playoff berth in the Eastern Conference, the Capitols have found themselves on quite a run. The Capitols opened the playoffs by sweeping the Green Bay Gamblers, winning both games 2-1, including Game 2’s overtime victory.
Awaiting in round two was the Anderson Cup Champions, for the best record in the USHL, the Youngstown Phantoms. The Phantoms finished with 91 points and allowed the fewest goals in the entire USHL.
The Capitols responded by taking the opening two games in Youngstown by scores of 2-1 and 1-0. After losing Game 3, the Capitols took the fourth game 2-1, once again defeating the Phantoms in a low-scoring affair.
The story of the Capitols’ playoffs has been their goaltending. Led by Tampa Bay Lightning’s seventh-round pick from a year ago, Caleb Heil, the Capitols have kept opposing teams off the board. Through six playoff starts, Heil is 5-1-0-0 with a 1.11 GAA and 0.966 SV%.
Heil is tied with Axelsson in wins during these playoffs and leads in both GAA and SV% by a wide margin. Heil competed at the 2026 World Juniors with Team USA and will be heading to the University of North Dakota, beginning next season.
Defenseman Nolen Geerdes has been a driving force offensively for the Capitols, recording six points across the six games, including two game-winning tallies. Through 61 games this season, Geerdes recorded six goals and 23 assists, tying him for the team lead in assists, while also leading all Capitols defenseman with 29 points. The 19-year-old is committed to Western Michigan University for the start of next year.