The United States Hockey League (USHL) has announced the first-round matchups for the 2023 Clark Cup Playoffs.
The format for the 2022-23 USHL Clark Cup Playoffs features 12 teams, six from each of the Eastern and Western Conferences, beginning Monday, April 24.
The USHL postseason tournament, which consists of four rounds, starts with a best-of-three first round series between the #3 and #6 seeds and #4 and #5 seeds from each of the two conferences. All three games will be played at the higher seed’s home location on three consecutive nights.
In the Western Conference, the third-seeded Lincoln Stars host the six-seed Des Moines Buccaneers with all three games beginning at 7:05 p.m. CST at the Ice Box in Lincoln, Neb. Seeded fourth, the Tri-City Storm hosts the #5-seed Sioux City Musketeers with all three games beginning at 7:05 p.m. CST at Viaero Center in Kearney, Neb.
#6 Des Moines at #3 Lincoln
Game 1: Monday, April 24 at 7:05 p.m. CST
Game 2: Tuesday, April 25 at 7:05 p.m. CST
Game 3*: Wednesday, April 26 at 7:05 p.m. CST
#5 Sioux City at #4 Tri-City
Game 1: Monday, April 24 at 7:05 p.m. CST
Game 2: Tuesday, April 25 at 7:05 p.m. CST
Game 3*: Wednesday, April 26 at 7:05 p.m. CST
In the Eastern Conference, the #3-seed USA Hockey National Team Development Program hosts the sixth-seeded Cedar Rapids RoughRiders with all games scheduled to start at 7:00 p.m. EST at USA Hockey Arena in Plymouth, Mich. The #4-seed Green Bay Gamblers host #5 Dubuque Fighting Saints with all three games starting at 7:05 p.m. CST at the Resch Center in Green Bay, Wis.
#6 Cedar Rapids at #3 NTDP
Game 1: Monday, April 24 at 7:00 p.m. EST
Game 2: Tuesday, April 25 at 7:00 p.m. EST
Game 3*: Wednesday, April 26 at 7:00 p.m. EST
#5 Dubuque at #4 Green Bay
Game 1: Monday, April 24 at 7:05 p.m. CST
Game 2: Tuesday, April 25 at 7:05 p.m. CST
Game 3*: Wednesday, April 26 at 7:05 p.m. CST
Following the first round, the winner of the #3 vs. #6 series will automatically play the #2 seed from their respective conference (Youngstown in the Eastern Conference and Waterloo in the Western Conference) while the winner of the #4 vs. #5 series will automatically play the #1 seeds in the conference semifinals (Chicago in the Eastern Conference and Fargo in the Western Conference).
The winners of the conference semifinals matchups then face-off in a best-of-five conference final series. The format of conference final will be 2-2-1 with games 1, 2 and 5 at the higher seed. The Eastern and Western Conference Champions will meet for the Clark Cup Final, a best-of-five series played in the 2-2-1 format with the higher seed hosting games 1, 2 and 5.
