2025 Clark Cup Playoffs

Western Conference First Round

Best-of-Three (Game One)

WATERLOO, Iowa – The No. 6 Tri-City Storm begin the 2025 USHL Western Conference Playoffs with a visit to the No. 3 Waterloo Black Hawks for game one of a best-of-three first round series Monday night at Young Arena. Puckdrop is slated for 6:35 pm CT. 

A complete series schedule is below. All games will be broadcast on FloHockey and Storm Radio. 

• Game One: Monday, April 14 at Waterloo (6:35 pm CT)

• Game Two: Tuesday, April 15 at Waterloo (6:35 pm CT)

• Game Three (if necessary): Wednesday, April 16 at Waterloo (6:35 pm CT)

The winning team advances to play No. 2 Sioux Falls in a best-of-five USHL Western Conference Semifinal series. Exact second round playoff dates are to be determined.  

Home playoff tickets: Tickets for potential second round Tri-City home playoff games will go on sale at 10:00 am CT on Friday, April 18. Playoff tickets will be available at stormhockey.com, by calling 308-338-8144, or stopping by the Viaero Center box office in-person.

A description of the 2025 USHL Clark Cup playoff format can be accessed HERE. 

Tri-City (regular season: 29-29-4, 62 pts., 6th place Western Conf.) is set to make its seventh consecutive postseason appearance and 17th in the last 25 seasons. The Storm finished the regular season at or above the .500 mark for the eighth consecutive year. Tri-City comes off a home-and-home series split against Lincoln. The Storm dropped Friday's opener 4-2 at the Ice Box but collected a 3-2 overtime victory during the regular season finale on Saturday in Kearney. 

Waterloo (regular season: 34-18-10, 78 pts., 3rd place Western Conf.) makes its fourth straight postseason appearance. The Black Hawks finished the regular season with three straight wins, ending with a 5-0 Saturday home victory against Omaha. Waterloo is the Western Conference's No. 3 seed for the second consecutive year. 

The Black Hawks collected five standings points to Tri-City's four across the regular season series. Each contest was won by the visiting team. 

• Sunday, October 13 (Viaero Center, Kearney) Waterloo 6, Tri-City 2

• Friday, November 15 (Young Arena, Waterloo) Tri-City 5, Waterloo 4 (SO)

• Saturday, November 16 (Young Arena, Waterloo) Tri-City 5, Waterloo 3

• Friday, March 7 (Viaero Center, Kearney) Waterloo 5, Tri-City 1

The clubs' last postseason clash was the 2016 Western Conference Final. Tri-City took the series 3-2 after defeating Waterloo (5-3) in a decisive game five at Viaero Center. The Storm advanced to sweep Dubuque in the best-of-five championship series to win their first Clark Cup in franchise history. 

Tri-City regular season offensive leaders:

• Nolan Roed (27-33-60 in 61 games) – registered three points across his final five regular season appearances and topped all USHL players with seven shorthanded goals.

• Artemi Nizameyev (27-28-55 in 53 games) – led the team with six game-winning goals during the regular season. 

• Carmelo Crandell (14-28-42 in 58 games) – finished third on the Storm roster with 132 regular season shot attempts. 

*Cooper Simpson (7-1-8 in 9 games) – ended the regular season on a five-game goal streak and eight-game point streak. Both were longest active in the USHL. Simpson's point streak was the lengthiest by a Storm player in 2024-2025. The North Dakota commit joined Tri-City in late March following his senior season at Shakopee High School (MN). 

Waterloo regular season offensive leaders:

• Kaeden Hawkins (21-24-45 in 58 games) – closed the regular season with five points in his final three games after producing a goal and an assist Saturday against Omaha. 

• Dylan Compton (5-40-45 in 62 games) – finished the regular season fifth among USHL skaters in assists (40). 

• Brendan McMorrow (24-18-42 in 58 games) – paced the team and tied for second among all USHL players with 14 regular season power play goals.