SIOUX FALLS, SD – The 2026 Clark Cup Final kicked off on Friday night at the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center, home of the Sioux Falls Stampede. The Muskegon Lumberjacks, fresh off their second consecutive Eastern Conference Championship, opened the scoring early, but fell in the end to the Stampede.
 
Entering the Clark Cup Final, no one had more goals in the postseason than Drew Stewart (Minnetonka, MN), who opened the scoring in game one with his eighth goal of the playoffs. While shorthanded, Chuck Blanchard (West Hartford, CT) knocked the puck off the stick of a Stampede player and carried it the other way to the Sioux Falls zone. Recognizing the opportunity, Stewart jumped up in the play and turned a breakaway into a 2-on-0 rush. Blanchard slid a pass to Stewart on the far side of the slot, where the future Dartmouth Big Green gave the Lumberjacks a 1-0 lead.
 
In the second period, the Stampede tied the game 1-1 with a turnover in their favor. Noah Mannausau gained possession of the puck on the far side of the Lumberjacks zone and tapped it to Thomas Zocco in the middle of the slot. Rather than shooting, Zocco sent the puck back to the far side to Joey Macrina, who buried a wrist shot to even the score heading into the third period.
 
Macrina scored his second goal of the game to give the Stampede a 2-1 lead just over halfway through the period. Joey McGraw fired a shot on net that was turned aside, but the rebound held up in the blue paint of the crease, where Macrina tapped it across the goal line to give Sioux Falls their first lead of the game.
 
An empty net goal in the final two minutes from J.J. Monteiro sealed the deal for the Stampede to take a 3-1 win, and a 1-0 lead in the best-of-5 series.
 
Carl Axelsson (Danderyd, SWE) (8-5) stopped 27 of the 29 shots he faced, but earned the loss on his playoff record. Linards Feldbergs (7-4) earned the win with 27 saves on 28 shots sent his way.
 
Game two of the Clark Cup Final comes Saturday night in Sioux Falls. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:05 pm ET on FloHockey and the Lumberjacks Hockey Network presented by Gray Supply Corp.