Games set to begin this Monday, all broadcasts in HD on HockeyTV
The United States Hockey League and its member clubs announced dates for the First Round of the 2018 Clark Cup Playoffs. The Chicago Steel, Dubuque Fighting Saints, Green Bay Gamblers, Fargo Force, Lincoln Stars, Muskegon Lumberjacks, Sioux Falls Stampede and Tri-City Storm will be competing to advance to the 2018 USHL Conference Semifinals.
Dubuque qualified for the Clark Cup Playoffs for the eighth consecutive season, which is five years longer than the next closest active playoff streak (Waterloo - 3). Chicago, who clinched the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference on the final day of the regular season, looks to become the first team to repeat as Clark Cup Champions since the Omaha Lancers accomplished the feat in 1993 and 1994.
The First Round will be a best-of-three series, with the higher seed hosting all three games. The Conference Semifinals, Conference Finals and Clark Cup Final will be best-of-five series. The top two seeds in both the Eastern and Western Conference received a first-round bye and will begin their playoff seasons in the Conference Semifinals. All First Round games will be broadcasted in HD on ushl.hockeytv.com. All times listed below are local to the home team.
Eastern Conference First Round
(3) Muskegon Lumberjacks vs. (6) Chicago Steel
Game 1: Monday, 4/16/18 at 7:15 pm at L.C. Walker Arena
Game 2: Tuesday, 4/17/18 at 7:15 pm at L.C. Walker Arena
Game 3 (if necessary): Wednesday, 4/18/18 at 7:15 pm at L.C. Walker Arena
(4) Green Bay Gamblers vs. (5) Dubuque Fighting Saints
Game 1: Monday, 4/16/18 at 7:05 pm at Resch Center
Game 2: Tuesday, 4/17/18 at 7:05 pm at Resch Center
Game 3 (if necessary): Wednesday, 4/18/18 at 7:05 pm at Resch Center
Western Conference First Round
(3) Fargo Force vs. (6) Tri-City Storm
Game 1: Tuesday, 4/17/18 at 7:05 pm at Scheels Arena
Game 2: Wednesday, 4/18/18 at 7:05 pm at Scheels Arena
Game 3 (if necessary): Thursday, 4/19/18 at 7:05 pm at Scheels Arena
(4) Sioux Falls Stampede vs. (5) Lincoln Stars
Game 1: Tuesday, 4/17/18 at 7:05 pm at Denny Sanford PREMIER Center
Game 2: Wednesday, 4/18/18 at 7:05 pm at Denny Sanford PREMIER Center
Game 3 (if necessary): Thursday, 4/19/18 at 7:05 pm at Denny Sanford PREMIER Center
Headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, the USHL celebrates its 16th season as the nation's only Tier I junior hockey league in 2017-18. 30 or more players from the USHL have been selected in five consecutive NHL Drafts, and more than 400 players on team rosters last season committed to NCAA Division I schools, further establishing the USHL as the world’s foremost producer of junior hockey talent.
