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David Deputy, Muskegon Lumberjacks (Photo credit: Muskegon Lumberjacks)

Muskegon Lumberjacks Win First USHL Clark Cup

Originally posted on The Hockey Writers
By Matthew Buhrmann | Last updated May 21, 2025 12:34 AM ET

The Muskegon Lumberjacks won their first-ever United States Hockey League (USHL) Clark Cup on Tuesday night with a 4-3 overtime victory. Jack Christ stepped up in this winner-take-all Game 5, scoring a hat trick, including the game-winning goal, after entering the game with just two playoff goals.

Muskegon netminder Shika Gadzhiev was great in net once again, making 34 saves on 37 shots in another strong performance, showing up big when it counted.

Game Recap

Muskegon’s Tynan Lawrence, a Boston University commit, got things started early, one-timing a perfect pass from Miami University commit David Deputy past Waterloo netminder Carter Casey to give the Jacks a quick 1-0 lead.

Muskegon tacked on another before the first intermission, heading into the break up 2-0 after successfully killing off a late delay-of-game penalty. Minnesota State commit Jack Christ found the net off the rush, sniping one past Casey’s right shoulder.

Early in the second, Brady Peddle fired wide, but the puck took a lucky bounce off the boards, landing right on Brendan McMorrow’s tape. McMorrow buried it, cutting the deficit and leaving Muskegon netminder Shika Gadzhiev with no chance.

With under four minutes left in the period, Waterloo evened things up—Reid Morich slid one home from the slot off a beautiful setup from Teddy Townsend.

Through two periods, Muskegon netminder Shika Gadzhiev had been tested with 26 Blackhawks’ shots, while Muskegon only managed 16 in response.

SHIKA GADZHIEV @USHL | @MuskegonJacks #USHL #ClarkCup #ChopChop #GetJACKD pic.twitter.com/slEKFC9k9e
— FloHockey (@FloHockey) May 21, 2025

Opening the third, Christ struck again, jumping on a loose rebound that Casey couldn’t control. The puck bounced off his chest, and Christ was there to clean it up, putting Muskegon back on top 3-2.

Waterloo wasn’t backing down. With eight minutes left in regulation, Hunter Ramos buried a perfect cross-ice feed from Chase Jette, tying the game at 3-3.

Neither team could break through in the final minutes, setting up a third straight overtime in Game 5.

Completing the hat trick and delivering the Lumberjacks their first-ever Clark Cup, Jack Christ fired a wrist shot past Carter Casey to win it all.

Jack Christ (@MinnStMHockey) completes the hat trick and lifts the @MuskegonJacks to their first Clark Cup title.@USHL pic.twitter.com/7vXgpDyd7S
— Ryan Sikes (@rms_hockey) May 21, 2025

“Our guys were able to stick with it, and it was a great series. All these people, man, it’s for them and I couldn’t be happier,” said Lumberjacks head coach Parker Burgess.

The two Miami RedHawks commits made their impact Tuesday night—Shika Gadzhiev turned aside 34 of 37 shots, while David Deputy added an assist, finishing with 10 goals and four assists (14 points) in this year’s playoffs.

Gadzhiev picked up all three Lumberjack wins in the series, bouncing back strong after being pulled early in Game 1. He finished the postseason with an 8-1 record, 2.03 goals-against average (GAA), and a .935 save percentage (SV%).

Four future RedHawks battled in the series—Bradley Walker and Michael Phelan for Waterloo, while Gadzhiev and Deputy suited up for Muskegon.

David Deputy, Muskegon Lumberjacks (Photo credit: Muskegon Lumberjacks)

Tynan Lawrence earned Clark Cup Playoff MVP honors. The 2026 NHL Draft prospect put together a strong playoff run, tallying eight goals and 10 assists for 18 points in 14 postseason games.

This best-of-five Clark Cup Final was a perfect example of USHL hockey—hard checking, tight defense, and goals that got tougher to come by as the series went on. It was great exposure for the league, especially with how often it’s overshadowed by the Canadian Hockey League (CHL).