By Trevor Grimm

Sometimes when two teams that have not faced each other much in the regular season meet in the playoffs, the game gets off to a tentative start with neither team wanting to make a mistake

Then there’s game one of the Clark Cup Finals Friday night.

Waterloo and Muskegon came out with speed, intensity, physicality, grit, energy, and played one of the most entertaining games hockey you will ever see.

The Black Hawks ended up with an 8-5 win, but the game had plenty of intrigue and momentum shifs.

The Lumberjacks struck first when Finn McLaughlin tallied just 1:29 into the first, but it was a short lived lead. But nine seconds later, Ty Mason tied the game and sent the home crowd into a 105db frenzy.

They didn’t stop there. The first period ended 4-1, and Teddy Townsend completed his second hat trick in the past three home games midway through the second.

Yet this game never felt out of reach. And for good reason. By the end of the second period, the score was 5-4.

It wasn’t until Reid Morich tallied an empty netter with less than a minute to go that the lead - 8-5 at this point - felt safe.

Thirteen goals implies a frenetic pace, and that’s exactly what this game had. Not just speed, but the quickness of passes, decisions, momentum shifts, left everyone feeling like they had take the wildest ride at the amusement park. It was non-stop energy, momentum shifts, big hits, physical play - in short, it was hockey at its very best.

And a top notch crowd makes an excellent hockey game that much better. The crowd reached 105 decibels before the game - with no music or amplification from the sound system. Waterloo is the Winnipeg of the USHL - the fans are in it from beginning to end, and make every game a fun experience.

Hockey is just different in the playoffs. And that difference gets ramped up on and off the ice another notch in the final.

Based on game one, if this series goes the full five games, the biggest winner will be the fans.