League Announces Clark Cup Playoff Structure
Published on March 19, 2025 under United States Hockey League (USHL) News Release
The United States Hockey League (USHL) has announced the 2024-25 Clark Cup Playoffs featuring 12 teams, six from each of the Eastern and Western Conferences, will begin Monday, April 14.
The Clark Cup Playoffs open with a three-game first round series between the #3 and #6 seeds and #4 and #5 seeds from each conference. All three games will be played at the higher seed's home location on three consecutive nights.
Following the first round, the winner of the #3 vs. #6 series will automatically play the #2 seed from their conference while the winner of the #4 vs. #5 series will automatically play the #1 seeds in the conference semifinals. The semifinals are best-of-five game series with a 2-2-1 format with games 1, 2 and 5 played at the higher seed.
The winners of the conference semifinals matchups will face off in a best-of-five conference final. The format of the 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.
2024-25 Clark Cup Playoffs Dates
*Exact game dates dependent on building availability*
First Round (Best of 3 Series): April 14-17
Conference Semifinals (Best of 5 Series): April 18-25
Conference Finals (Best of 5 Series): April 26-May 8
Clark Cup Final (Best of 5 Series): May 9-21
Playoff seedings are determined by regular season points with the following tiebreakers in play (if needed)
a) ROW (regulation + overtime wins)
b) Head-to-head record
c) Most wins in league competition (including shootout wins)
d) Least losses in league competition
e) Greater overall goal differential
f) Greater head-to-head goal differential
g) Game played at neutral site OR coin flip
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