300 Main Street, Suite 200, Dubuque, IA 52001
Mon – Thurs 8 am – 5 pm, Fri 8 am – 12 pm
DUBUQUE, Iowa — For the third time in six seasons, the Dubuque Fighting Saints are headed to the Clark Cup Final. Behind a shutout from Hunter Miska, the Fighting Saints slammed the door on the Bloomington Thunder, winning 3-0 in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Final, and punching their ticket into the Clark Cup Final to face the Tri-City Storm.
Dubuque received offensive production from three players that hadn’t even registered goals in the Clark Cup playoffs. One of them hadn’t even tallied a goal in his Fighting Saints career, until tonight.
It took Fighting Saints defenseman Andrew Kerr 124 games combined between his regular season and playoff career with the team to net his first one, an empty netter with some serious English off the glass and down to the empty net to seal up the Fighting Saints’ third Clark Cup Final berth in the last six seasons.
In goal, Miska stopped everything he saw. 25 shots, many of the grade-A variety, he denied opportunity after opportunity to keep the hard-charging Thunder, who picked up the Game 4 win in overtime and forced this decisive Game 5, completely off the board.
Casey Johnson started the scoring for the Fighting Saints, a shorthanded opportunity in the second period that materialized off of a power move from Evan Smith out of the corner. He found a streaking Johnson, who stopped at the base of the left circle, and got a backhander away that bounced past Thunder netminder Hayden Lavigne. It was the first time the Fighting Saints scored the first goal in the series.
Zach Solow followed up the second-period scoring with a goal of his own four minutes after Johnson tallied. The “Coneheads” line showcased pinpoint passing. While falling, Dallas Gerads fed Colin Theisen at the top of the left circle. His first opportunity was blocked, but his second opportunity was tipped home by Solow, to mark his first of the series.
For the first time in the series, neither team scored on special teams.
With the win by the Tri-City Storm in Game 5 of the Western Conference Final, the Clark Cup Final matchup is set between the third-seeded Fighting Saints and the top-seeded Storm. However, due to the standings point advantage during the regular season, Dubuque will receive home ice in the final series of the 2015-16 USHL season.
The Clark Cup Final begins Friday, May 13 at Our House. The puck drops at 7:35 p.m. Tickets are available by calling the box office at 563.583.6880, or by going online to DubuqueFightingSaints.com.
Game 2 follows on Saturday, May 14 at 7:05 p.m.
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About the Dubuque Fighting Saints
The Fighting Saints returned to USHL play in the brand new Mystique Community Ice Center during the 2010-11 Season, winning the Clark Cup in their first year back in the USHL. The Fighting Saints continued their success with a historic season in 2012-13, finishing with a franchise best 45-11-8 record. The team claimed the Anderson Cup as the USHL’s regular season champions for the first time in 30 years, and also earned the Clark Cup for second time in three seasons. In August 2013, the team took the Bronze Medal while representing the United States at the Junior Club World Cup in Omsk, Russia. The club has produced a number of players that moved on to NCAA Division I hockey and have been drafted by NHL teams, including Zemgus Girgensons and Johnny Gaudreau. The original Fighting Saints competed in the USHL for 21 seasons (1980--2001). The Club won the Clark Cup as playoff champions on three occasions (1981, 1983, 1985) under head coach Jack Barzee. One of the most well-known alumni of the original Fighting Saints was Gary Suter, a 17-year NHL veteran, two time Olympian, Stanley Cup winner, and member of the US Hockey Hall of Fame.
About Northern Lights Hockey, LLC
Northern Lights Hockey, LLC is the company that owns and operates the USHL franchise in Dubuque, Iowa. The owners of Northern Lights Hockey, LLC collectively provide an extensive background in both business and hockey, and represent interests on a national and local level. Philip Falcone, Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President of HC2 Holdings, Inc. and former part owner of the NHL’s Minnesota Wild, is the company’s principal owner. The ownership group also includes Peter Chiarelli, Edmonton Oilers President of Hockey Operations and General Manager, Mark Falcone, and Brad Kwong, Managing Partner of Northern Lights Hockey, LLC. Philip Falcone, Chiarelli and Kwong all played hockey together at Harvard University in the mid- 1980’s. The group also includes local Iowan partners Mark Falb and David S. Field, M.D. Falb currently serves as Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Westmark Enterprises, Inc. and Kendall / Hunt Publishing Company. Dr. Field has practiced orthopedic surgery for 30 years and has been the driving force behind hockey in Dubuque. Dr. Field also owned the Dubuque Thunderbirds, the USA Hockey Tier III team that competed in the Central States Hockey League through the 2009-10 Season.
