Lincoln, NE – The Fargo Force advanced to the Clark Cup Finals, eliminating the Lincoln Stars in Game 4 Monday night by a score of 8-4. This will be the sixth franchise appearance in the Clark Cup Finals for the Force. Matej Marinov stopped 17 of 21 shots before being replaced by Anton Castro in the second period, who perfectly blocked all 13 shots he faced. For Lincoln, Cameron Whitehead rejected 9 of 15 attempts on him, before Lucas Massie took over in the third. Massie was also perfect, brushing aside the 3 shots he faced. 

Fargo and Lincoln traded goals within the first five minutes of the first period. Owen  Mehlenbacher scored at 52 seconds drawing first blood at 1-0. The Stars responded at 1:25 beating Marinov and tying the game 1-1. Cole Knuble reclaimed the lead 2-1 for the Force at 2:48 on a drop pass from Mac Swanson. Kyle Smolen was assessed a major penalty and game misconduct at 4:30 for head contact, giving Lincoln a five minute power play. Fargo played excellent on the penalty kill, and successfully returned to full strength without yielding a goal. As the Stars increased their pressure, a turnover by Fargo in their defensive zone allowed Lincoln to even the game 2-2 at 11:41. Immediately following, the Stars were penalized for a check from behind at 12:01, resulting the Force's first power play. Charlie Russell came up in clutch on the man advantage, scoring from the right hand circle at 13:28 to make it 3-2. JP Turner took a slashing penalty at 14:24 and Fargo went down a man again. Lincoln leveled out the game 3-3 at 15:37 with a power play goal. The Stars then went back to the man advantage after sustained pressure drew a Swanson kneeing penalty at 18:45. A fortuitous bounce after a Marinov save gave Lincoln their first lead of the night at 19:24, closing out an offense heavy period. 

Marinov was replaced by Castro between the pipes for Fargo to start the second period. Meanwhile, Swanson came out swinging with a power move, so fast that Whitehead lost his glove on the save. The next stretch was back and forth with multiple blocked shots in front of both goalies. Joe Palodichuk was the leader on defense, sacrificing his body a number of times to prevent the puck from reaching Castro and the Force net. Lincoln raised the heat in the Fargo end, where Castro clambered from post to post, committing highway robbery on the Stars. The Force got a power play opportunity at 12:57 from a holding call, but couldn't establish the cycle. After a massive hit on Palodichuk, Jacob Napier and Lincoln's Doug Grimes were called for unsportsmanlike conduct, so a 4 on 4 ensued. Zam Plante put a beautiful backhand on Whitehead, but it was punched away to end the extra ice time. Kevin Scott received a call for cross checking at 18:01, giving the Stars a power play that was defended away by the Force, leaving a second of time left for the third period. 

Six seconds into the third period, Bret Link was called for an interference penalty and the Force went back to the penalty kill, which stood its ground. Castro turned the puck over but stopped the follow up shot afterwards by the Stars. Fargo picked up the pace in the third period, and ground their way keep the zone. Napier put home a rebound originally fired by Swanson at 5:58, outlasting Whitehead pushing it to 4-4. The Force returned to the man advantage at 8:01, this time from a Stars tripping call. Mehlenbacher scored the go ahead goal, handing Fargo a 5-4 lead at 8:22. Plante looked to extend the lead, but it was gloved by Whitehead. Fargo went back to the power play off a cross checking penalty at 9:32. The Force capitalized once more on the power play from Knuble at 9:41, lengthening Fargo's lead to 6-4. Lincoln switched out Whitehead for Massie at 15:05. Massie was pulled for the extra attacker at 16:00, giving the Stars a short surge. However, Knuble completed his hat trick on the empty net at 16:27 and it was 7-4. Massie again was subbed out for the extra attacker, and Swanson swept it in the empty net finalizing the score 8-4.

The Clark Cup Finals will take place between Fargo and the winner of the Chicago Steel/Youngstown Phantoms series. Dates range between May 12-May 23 with ticket information to come.