MUSKEGON, MI - The Dubuque Fighting Saints (33-12-3-3, 72 pts) clinched their 13th-straight Clark Cup Playoff appearance with a 5-0 shutout-win over the Muskegon Lumberjacks (31-19-1-1, 64 pts) on Friday night.

Through 39 minutes, Erik Påhlsson's 22nd of the season with just over five minutes left in the first period was the only tally of the game. Then, with just over 20 seconds left in the middle frame, Jake Sondreal stepped out of the box, fed Noah Powell into the zone and Powell ripped home his 28th of the season with 19.4 seconds left. It was Sondreal's 62nd point of the season and the 100th of his career. The goal put the Saints ahead by a pair into the third.

Dylan Johnson, in his seventh game for the Saints and in the USHL, notched his first shutout with 25 saves. He made multiple saves in close quarters against Muskegon's leading goal-scorer Sacha Boisvert to help preserve the shutout and victory.

In the third, after going scoreless on two chances, the Fighting Saints converted on their third power play of the night. Lucas St. Louis scored his 10th of the season, and ninth on the power play, at 6:07 to extend the lead to three. Powell added a second a few minutes later before finishing the night with an empty-netter to cap off his second hat trick of the season.

The Saints' penalty was perfect for the fifth-straight game, stopping all three Lumberjack power plays. 

The win clinched the Fighting Saints' spot in the Clark Cup playoffs and extended their lead at the top of the Eastern Conference. The Saints are now seven points clear ahead of second-place Green Bay and eight points ahead of third-place Muskegon. 

Dubuque avoided a third-straight loss for the first time this year with its bounce-back victory on Friday night. The Saints meet the Jacks again on Saturday to wrap up their series.