Waterloo, Dubuque, Des Moines, & Sioux City Make USHL Playoffs

Four Iowa teams qualified for the 2017 United States Hockey League Clark Cup Playoffs. Des Moines, Dubuque, Sioux City, and Waterloo begin play Friday.

The Western Conference champion Sioux City Musketeers also claimed the Anderson Cup, awarded to the team with the best regular season record each year in the USHL. Despite that honor, the Musketeers enter the Clark Cup playoffs on a three-game losing streak. They do hold the home ice advantage throughout the entire playoffs and hold the number one seed in the Western Conference.

The Waterloo Black Hawks hold the second best USHL regular season record, and they have won eight of their last ten games. The Black Hawks will have home ice advantage through the first round, which bodes well for Waterloo. They have the best home record during the 2016/17 regular season. The Black Hawks also scored the most goals during the sixty-game season. Waterloo is the second seed in the Western Conference.

The Des Moines Buccaneers are skating into the Clark Cup Playoffs riding a four-game win streak. It's been over a decade since their last playoff game. It was 2007 when Des Moines played in the post season. The Buccaneers are the fourth seed in the Western Conference.

The Dubuque Fighting Saints enter the playoffs with the second best power play in the USHL. Dubuque is also entering the post-season with a four-game winning streak. The Fighting Saints will be the second seed in the Eastern Conference.