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United States Hockey League (USHL)

2023 USHL Clark Cup Playoffs: Green Bay, Dubuque Headlines First Round

2023 USHL Clark Cup Playoffs: Green Bay, Dubuque Headlines First Round

USHL writer Ryan Sikes previews each of the first round series that kick off the 2023 Clark Cup Playoffs.

Apr 24, 2023
Stars Rise In The USHL

After the long 62-game regular season, 12 teams remain in the hunt for the USHL’s Clark Cup, one of the most coveted trophies in all of junior hockey. The Clark Cup Playoffs are set to begin Monday, with the opening round of the playoffs featuring four best-of-three series. The top two teams in each conference will be resting up with a first-round bye.

FloHockey will be your exclusive streaming home for three of the four first-round series.

In the Eastern Conference, the Green Bay Gamblers will host the Dubuque Fighting Saints with the winner of that series moving on to take on the top seed in the East, the Chicago Steel. Meanwhile, the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders will travel to Michigan to take on the U.S. National Under-17 Team from USA Hockey’s National Team Development Program for a shot at the Youngstown Phantoms in the conference semifinals.

Out West, the Tri-City Storm are at home against defending Clark Cup champion Sioux City Musketeers with the winner of that series moving on to meet the Anderson Cup champion Fargo Force. In the final series of the first round, the Lincoln Stars will play host to the Des Moines Buccaneers to set up a date with the Waterloo Black Hawks in the Eastern Conference semis.

The second round will also be a best-of-three series, hosted by the higher-seeded teams.

The Clark Cup Playoffs will feature four total rounds with winners from the Eastern Conference meeting the victors from the Western Conference squaring off in the championship series. Each of the conference finals and championship series will be played in a best-of-five format with the series alternating in a 2-2-1 format with the higher seed hosting Games 1, 2 and 5.

Let’s take a look at each of the first-round matchups.

Eastern Conference

No. 5 Dubuque Fighting Saints (32-24-5-1) vs. No. 4 Green Bay Gamblers (32-23-3-4)

Game 1: Monday, April 24 at 7:05 p.m. CT

Game 2: Tuesday, April 25 at 7:05 p.m. CT

Game 3*: Wednesday, April 26 at 7:05 p.m. CT

* If necessary

The Green Bay Gamblers grabbed the right to host their first-round matchup with Dubuque thanks to two goals in a span of six seconds late on Saturday.

Green Bay finished with the sixth-best home record (17-12-0-2) in the East but took three out of four games against Dubuque at the Resch Center during the regular season.

The Fighting Saints finished the season winning six of their last ten games, but they’ll have to stay out of the penalty box after having the third-most penalty minutes (945) among playoff teams in the East.

Head-to-Head Record

Tied 4-4

Players To Watch

Artyom Levshunov, D, Green Bay (2024)

A dynamic, puck-moving defenseman, Levshunov could attract first-round potential in next year’s draft. The Belarusian blueliner had the third-most points (42) among all USHL defensemen and the second-most powerplay goals (7). The Belarusian defenseman's remarkable transition to North America was covered in a recent FloHockey feature. 

Ryan St. Louis, F, Dubuque

In his second USHL stint, St. Louis was the engine that made the Fighting Saints go. The 19-year-old finished with the fifth-most points (72) in the USHL, with 48 points (22 goals, 26 assists) coming in the second half. The son of Hockey Hall of Famer Martin St. Louis surely has been carving out a name for himself with his performance this USHL season alongside younger brother Lucas.

2023 Dubuque Fighting Saints vs Green Bay Gamblers


No. 6 Cedar Rapids RoughRiders (30-23-4-5) vs. No. 3 Team USA (36-21-3-2)

Game 1: Monday, April 24 at 7 p.m. ET

Game 2: Tuesday, April 25 at 7 p.m. ET

Game 3*: Wednesday, April 26 at 7 p.m. ET

* If necessary

NOTE: All three games from ONLY this series in the first round will stream on USA Hockey TV. 

The USA Hockey NTDP is back in the Clark Cup Playoffs for the first time since the 2018-19 season. Of the two teams that make up the NTDP, only the U17 squad is allowed to compete in the postseason by league rules and because the U18 squad is at the IIHF Men’s World U18 Championship. Though they’re very young, Team USA has no shortage of firepower, finishing with the second-most goals (271) in the USHL.

The NTDP finished with the second-best home record (20-8-1-2) in the Eastern Conference, going 7-2-1-0 over its final ten games at USA Hockey Arena, giving them a clear advantage in this series.

Their opponent, the Cedar Rapid RoughRiders, have been hit-or-miss away from “The Stable,” going just 12-14-2-3, and split their four-game series with the NTDP U17 squad at USA Hockey Arena this season.

During stretches of the regular season, Cedar Rapids looked like they could play with anyone, knocking off the Steel 7-2 at Fox Valley Ice Arena out of the holiday break and notable road wins down the stretch against several of the top teams in both conferences.

Head-to-Head Record

Tied 3-3

Players To Watch

Ryan Walsh, F, Cedar Rapids (2023)

Walsh pieced together one of the best seasons by a player in the USHL not named Macklin Celebrini. He eclipsed the 30-goal mark on the final weekend of the regular season, displaying a terrific combination of scoring and passing. The Cornell commit finished with 79 points, setting the RoughRiders’ record for points in a single season.

Kristian Epperson, F, NTDP U17s (2024)

Epperson should be a name that will garner plenty of national attention next year. When several of his U17 teammates were elevated to the U18 squad, the Mequon, Wis., native took advantage of expanded playing time. Once the calendar flipped to January, Epperson potted 21 points (10 goals, 11 assists) in the final 25 games.

Western Conference

No. 6 Des Moines Buccaneers (25-28-5-4) vs. No. 3 Lincoln Stars (37-21-3-1)

Game 1: Monday, April 24 at 7:05 p.m. CT

Game 2: Tuesday, April 25 at 7:05 p.m. CT

Game 3*: Wednesday, April 26 at 7:05 p.m. CT

* If necessary

2023 Des Moines Buccaneers vs Lincoln Stars


Despite dropping their final two games to Tri-City, the Lincoln Stars have been terrific since the calendar flipped to March. After going 5-4-2 in February, Rocky Russo’s squad rallied to go 12-4-0-1 the rest of the way.

The Buccaneers held off Sioux Falls for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference, going 6-3-0-1 over their last ten games and collecting points in their last six. Des Moines finished with the second-fewest goals (167) in the league and only won two of their six matchups against Lincoln during the regular season.

Head-to-Head

4-2-0-0, Lincoln

Players To Watch

Tanner Ludtke, F, Lincoln (2023)

With several players graduating from last year’s roster, Ludtke took on an expanded role with the club and ran with it. The University of Nebraska-Omaha commit had 19 multi-point games this season, leading the Stars with 12 powerplay goals.

Max Lundgren, G, Des Moines (2023)

Lundgren will be tasked with slowing the Stars and stopped a combined 71-of-77 shots on goal in two regular-season matchups against Lincoln. Recently listed as No. 18 among North American goalies on NHL Central Scouting’s final rankings, the 6-foot-5 netminder had the seventh-best goals-against average (2.65) and the fifth-best save percentage (.913) among all USHL goaltenders.

No. 5 Sioux City Musketeers (29-28-2-3) vs. No. 4 Tri-City Storm (34-20-4-4)

Game 1: Monday, April 24 at 7:05 p.m. CT

Game 2: Tuesday, April 25 at 7:05 p.m. CT

Game 3*: Wednesday, April 26 at 7:05 p.m. CT

* If necessary

2023 Sioux City Musketeers vs Tri-City Storm


Despite finishing 13 points behind the Storm in the standings, Sioux City collected points in five of their eight meetings during the regular season.

The defending Clark Cup Champion Musketeers went 5-5-0-0 over their final ten games and featured the Western Conference’s best powerplay conversion (25.1%) and second-best penalty kill (81.5%).

Tri-City was red-hot after the trade deadline, climbing out the basement in the West, and had a couple of opportunities to pass Lincoln for third place.

Head-to-Head

4-3-0-1 Tri-City

Players To Watch

Jake Richard, F, Tri-City (BUF)

Richard flourished after being traded from Muskegon to Tri-City. The Buffalo Sabres’ 2022 sixth-round pick averaged a point per game with the Storm, accumulating 13 goals and 14 assists in 27 games, including five-game winners.

Ryan Conmy, F, Sioux City (2023)

In his first year in the USHL, Conmy put himself on the map for NHL clubs in June’s draft. The University of New Hampshire commit finished with 62 points (33 goals, 29 assists) in 60 games, registering two hat tricks and eight multi-goal games.