Photo Credit: Logan Murphy [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/291ef7f9-5c32-4eb8-bb9f-61aab1f65d38.jpeg] Photo Credit: Logan Murphy Muskegon Lumberjacks forward Jack Christ may score several hat tricks before his hockey career is over. At this point in his 19 years on earth, there was none bigger than the one he notched in Game 5 [https://thehockeynews.com/ushl/game-day/ushl-clark-cup-final-live-blog-stage-is-set-for-one-more-game]of the Clark Cup Final Tuesday at Young Arena in Waterloo against the Black Hawks. Video Courtesy of the USHL Six minutes into overtime, Christ fired a shot past Hawks goaltender Carter Casey to earn the hatty and a 4-3 victory for the Jacks, who lifted the Clark Cup Trophy for the first time in franchise history. "This feels so good right now," the Hat Trick Hero said after the game. "It's been a long year and it just feels so good to end on a really good note." It was only fitting the fifth and deciding game of the Final went into sudden-death. After all, Game 3 took two overtimes and Game 4 wasn’t decided until 1:30 into an extra period. It became clear before the start of Game 5 that the team who walked away with the Cup would need to give everything they had, and then some. "In Game 4, we wanted to be able to do it for all our home crowd who came out," Lumberjacks head coach Parker Burgess said. "We've always kind of gone and taken the hard road. Coming back here (to Waterloo), I was just so proud of the guys. That day after Game 4, you could just tell that they were focused and we weren't leaving here without the Clark Cup." Tynan Lawrence got the Jacks on the board first at 3:53 of the opening period, getting a one-timer past Waterloo netminder Carter Casey from the slot for his eighth goal of the post-season. David Deputy picked up the assist with a beautiful setup. Muskegon went on the game’s first power play when Chase Jette was called for a hard hit into the boards. The Hawks had a shorthanded chance, but Jacks goaltender Shika Gadzhiev made the stop. Waterloo managed to successfully kill off the penalty. Christ got his career night started, rifling a shot past Casey from the right-wing circle at the 14:03 mark of the period, giving the Jacks a 2-0 lead after 20 minutes. The Hawks outshot Muskegon 11-8 in the opening frame. Even though they trailed by two goals, one got the sense they were not out of the game by any means. As it turned out, they weren’t. The Hawks had quite a flurry early in the period, putting Gadzhiev to the test. The Lumberjacks’ defense came through in a big way, blocking several shots to keep the Hawks off the scoreboard. Photo Courtesy of Annamarque Photography [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/29013aac-0362-4479-b0da-d30d3b4fefa1.jpeg] Photo Courtesy of Annamarque Photography Waterloo finally broke through when Brendan McMorrow fired one past Gadzhiev on a deflection off the end boards to make it a 2-1 game. The Jacks appeared to take the lead to 3-1 at the 14:59 mark of the second period. David Klee’s shot trickled in behind Casey, but Waterloo challenged the play for goalie interference. After review, the officials ruled no goal, sending the Young Arena crowd into a frenzy and keeping the Jacks’ lead at 2-1. It was a big break for the Black Hawks, and they pounced. After Brady Peddell cleared the puck, Teddy Townsend set up Reid Morich in the low slot, and the Hawks tied the game 2-2 at 16:16. Early in the third period, Christ scored his second of the game at 1:54 on a rebound off the toe of Casey to put Muskegon back in the lead 3-2. It was Christ’s first multi-goal game of the post-season, and he was officially on hatty watch. The Hawks had several chances to tie the game again. Finally, Hunter Ramos fired a one-timer from the left circle off a cross-ice pass from Jette. The shot went over Gadzhiev’s shoulder at the 11:30 mark for a 3-3 game. Neither team could tickle the twine the remainder of regulation, so overtime would be needed for the third straight game. After Casey denied Deputy on a Grade A chance, Christ notched the golden goal at 6:01 of the extra frame. He rifled a wrister past Casey, earning the biggest hat trick of his young life before rushing across the ice to celebrate with his teammates. Winning the Clark Cup had extra-special meaning for Klee, the former Black Hawk who was traded to Muskegon following the 2022-23 season. "I went through a lot of stuff here (in Waterloo)," Klee said. "Ups, downs, not playing a lot, then get shipped off to a place I was wanted and treated like family. To bring this family to the top, I don't have words for it." Lawrence, who had eight goals and 10 assists for 18 points in 14 post-season games, was named Most Valuable Player of the Clark Cup Playoffs. "Our whole team stepped up," Lawrence said. "It wasn't just me. It was a team effort." Gadzhiev stopped 34 of 37 Waterloo shots to pick up the victory. Casey saved 28 shots in a tough loss for the Hawks, who were looking to win their first Clark Cup since 2004. The hard-fought 4-3 victory gave Muskegon its first Clark Cup in franchise history, and they earned every ounce of it. "I don't think you can really put it into words what this team has gone through and what we were able to battle through," Burgess said. "The two words that come to my mind are resilience and endurance. They became a family, and you just gotta outlast things and stick with it."
