A pair of incoming Miami freshmen lifted the USHL’s top prize on Tuesday.
RedHawks signees Shika Gadzhiev and David Deputy helped Muskegon capture its first-ever Clark Cup championship on Tuesday, capped off by a 4-3 overtime win at Waterloo in the decisive fifth game of the best-of-5 series.
The final three games of the series all went to overtime.
Deputy led the USHL in playoff goals, scoring 10 times in 14 games and dishing for four assists, including one in Game 5. The Gurnee, Ill., forward finished the regular season with 57 points, tops among the RedHawks’ incoming class.
In net, Gadzhiev, originally from Makhachkala, Russia, led the league in postseason wins (8), goals-against average (2.03) and save percentage (.935), stopping 34 of 37 shots in the finale. He went 19-13 with a 2.68 GAA and a .909 save percentage in the regular season.
Two MU freshmen-to-be played for runner-up Waterloo. Forward Bradley Walker notched two goals and an assist in the playoffs after going 7-6-13 in the regular season, and defenseman Michael Phelan, who picked up two postseason helpers, went 3-9-12 in 52 regular season games.
The USHL is the top feeder league for Division I hockey.
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