MUSKEGON, MI – The month of April has been good to the Muskegon Lumberjacks, as they’ve compiled an 11-2 overall record, including seven straight playoff wins. The Lumberjacks now have a chance to make the month of May a historic endeavor, following a 3-1 home win over the Dubuque Fighting Saints on Tuesday night in front of thousands of fans at the Trinity Health Arena in downtown Muskegon. The victory clinched a three-game sweep for Muskegon in the USHL Eastern Conference Finals and helped the organization advance to the Clark Cup Finals for the first time since 2015. The Lumberjacks finished runner-up to the Sioux Falls Stampede. Muskegon will face the winner of the Lincoln Stars and the Waterloo Black Hawks in the 2025 Clark Cup Finals. The Jacks will hit the road for Game 1, which is scheduled for Friday, May 9. The last time Muskegon won a league championship came in 2004-05 when the Muskegon Fury won the Colonial Cup. Vaclav Nestrasil got the Jacks on the board early in the first period, when he took a well-place pass from teammate Jack Galanek, following a pass from David Klee, and fired a shot off the crossbar that ricocheted into the back of the net to give Muskegon a 1-0 lead just 8:06 into the game. The Saints tied the game at 1-1 early in the second period when Lucas Van Vliet tucked a shot under the glove of Muskegon goalkeeper Shikhabudtin Gadzhiev for a power play goal just 1:11 into the second frame. The Lumberjacks responded midway through the second period when Matthew Van Blaricom potted a wrist shot off assists from Carter Sanderson and Drew Stewart to give Muskegon a 2-1 lead after 13:57 of action in the second frame. Muskegon fended off the Saints in the third period and tacked on an empty net goal from Tynan Lawrence off an assist from Nestrasil with eight seconds left in regulation to put the finishing touches on a 3-1 win and another impressive playoff series sweep. The No. 4 seed Lumberjacks defeated No. 5 seed Cedar Rapids RoughRiders (2-1) in the first round of the USHL playoffs and followed that up with a three-game sweep of the top-seeded Youngstown Phantoms before knocking off No. 2 seed Dubuque in the Eastern Conference Finals. Shikhabudtin Gadzhiev stopped 30 of 31 shots faced against the Saints to improve to 5-0 in his postseason starts. Below is the full schedule for the 2025 Clark Cup Finals Game 1: at Lincoln/Waterloo (Fri. May 9) Game 2: at Lincoln/Waterloo (Sat. May 10) Game 3: at Muskegon (Fri. May 16) *Game 4: at Muskegon (Sat. May 17) *(Game 5: at Lincoln/Waterloo (Tue. May 20) *If necessary Follow Josh VanDyke on Twitter and Facebook for more West Michigan sports content If you would like your local high school sports news delivered free to your inbox daily, click here and sign up for one of our local high school sports newsletters. Love reading about local sports? Don’t miss any of the excitement from the season ahead. Purchase your subscription and get full access to every story on MLive.