WATERLOO, IA – Heading into the Clark Cup Final, the Muskegon Lumberjacks and Waterloo Black Hawks had some of the top defensive numbers in the postseason. The statistics were thrown out the window in a high-scoring, 8-5 affair, giving Waterloo a 1-0 lead in the best-of-5 series.
 
Both netminders struggled at the start of the game, allowing the first shots for both teams to cross the goal line. First, the Lumberjacks found the back of the cage just 1:29 into the Clark Cup Final. Jack Galanek (Hopkinton, MA) held the puck in the far side corner and slid it behind the net to Jack Christ (Chaska, MN). As he made his way toward the near side corner, Christ looked up and found Finn McLaughlin (Canmore, AB, CAN) sneaking down the slot. Christ sent a perfect pass for McLaughlin to one-time past the goalie, opening the scoring in the Clark Cup Final.
 
Four straight goals followed for the Hawks. First, Ty Mason slid a shot through the five-hole of Shikhabudtin Gadzhiev (Makhachkala, RUS), tying the game just ten seconds later. Then, Teddy Townsend scored his first of two goals in the opening frame to give Waterloo a 2-1 lead at the 9:04 mark. Working his way through the offensive zone, Townsend was pressured by a pair of Jack's defensemen but was able to fire a shot over Gadzhiev's glove for his 7th goal of the postseason.
 
Just 22 seconds later, it was 3-1 Waterloo. Sam Huck scored his first goal of the playoffs after a miscommunication in the Jacks' zone led to a loose puck in the low slot. Huck got a pass from the side of the net and one-timed it past Gadzhiev, who exited the game after the goal. Townsend's second goal came in tight to the crease as he moved across right to left. With the puck on his forehand, Townsend wrapped it around the outstretched pad to make it 4-1 Hawks with just over three minutes to play in the first period.
 
The second period was the polar opposite of the first. Scoring didn't open until the 8:33 mark of the frame. The one constant was Townsend scoring the goal. His third goal of the game came on a second-chance opportunity. His initial shot was stopped, but the rebound bounced straight to him in the low slot, granting an opportunity to finish the hat trick.
 
Feeling the game slip away, the Jacks mounted a comeback effort and brought the score to within a goal before the second intermission. Vaclav Nestrasil (Praha, CZE) buried the first Jacks' goal at the 11:59 mark from the side of the net. Galanek picked up his second assist of the game by getting Nestrasil the puck right on the edge of the blue paint on the far side of the crease.
 
At the 17:14 mark, McLaughlin scored his second goal of the game to make it 5-3. The puck came to McLaughlin at the top of the slot through Teddy Spitznagel (Bloomfield Hills, MI) and Chase Stefanek (Yorba Linda, CA). McLaughlin's shot wasn't the hardest, but with a load of bodies between him and the net, it found a way to sneak past Carter Casey.
 
Not long after, the Jacks struck again. Tynan Lawrence (Fredericton, NB, CAN) carried the puck behind the net to the near side circle before firing a shot. The shot was blocked but returned to him at the top of the slot. Lawrence sent the puck towards the net, and as Ivan Ryabkin (Balakovo, RUS) met it at the goal, he was pushed into the goalie. The puck crossed the goal line through the collision, and the officials deemed it good following a video review.
 
Four more goals came in the third period with three of them belonging to the Hawks. The first was just 1:11 into the frame off the stick of Reid Morich. Grady Deering added one of his own to the 15:14 mark to make it 7-4.
 
Stefanek found the back of the net with a tap-in from the top of the crease at 16:25 for his second game point. Lawrence had the assist for a 2-point performance of his own.
 
An empty-net goal for Morich sealed game 1 and gave Waterloo the 8-5 victory. The Hawks lead the Clark Cup Final 1-0, and game two is quickly approaching on Saturday night.
 
Puck drop is scheduled for 7:35 pm EST at Young Arena in Waterloo. For more information on broadcast options, visit muskegonlumberjacks.com.