“I honestly don’t think I was really thinking about it [going for the hat trick], I really just wanted to get the job done and win the game,” said Christ about heading into the overtime period with two goals already to his name that night. “Overtime fired us up for sure, you go out there and the crowd is roaring even louder and I feel like our team took it really well … I think we got more comfortable playing in overtime knowing the game was on the line and we ended up winning when it mattered.” 

And then - it happened. Just over six minutes into the extra frame, Christ skated with the puck into the offensive zone, made a drop pass back to teammate Jack Galanek who passed it right back to him, he glided up towards the net and spun around and shot the puck on net to complete the hat trick and to win Muskegon’s first-ever Clark Cup with a 4-3 final score over the Black Hawks. 

“The puck ended up coming to my stick and I just shot it and saw it go in and it was amazing, probably the best moment of my life for sure,” said Christ about that moment. After he scored, he skated down the length of the ice and did a fan-favorite ‘selfie stick’ celebration before all of his teammates went over to the glass to celebrate with him. After the Clark Cup was awarded to the Lumberjacks, Christ got to celebrate on the ice with his friends and family who were all in attendance for his championship-winning performance. 

“Jack Christ has got a great work ethic and a great motor and he has a willingness to get better and continue to get better,” said APX Hockey General Manager Erik Rasmussen about the 5-foot-9 forward and what he brings to the table as both an athlete and a competitor. 

The 2024-25 season was Christ’s first full year in junior hockey. He previously played in three years of high school hockey for Chanhassen High School and most notably made the state tournament with the Storm in 2024. He was tied for the lead in overall scoring as a senior that year with 58 points through 31 contests and Chanhassen was the eventual Class AA state tournament runner-up to Edina. 

Christ said that playing Minnesota high school hockey really helped him to prepare for the pressure and the chaotic atmosphere of the overtime playoff games that he had to participate in this year with Muskegon. He recalls a similar vibe and experience when had to play in the 2024 section final against Minnetonka and then again at the state tournament at the Xcel Energy Center where the enormous crowds, boisterous fan sections, bright lights and television cameras can prove to be a bit much for some athletes who aren’t used to it. 

After his senior season, Christ was drafted by Muskegon in the fifth round of the USHL Entry Draft. By the time main camp happened for the Lumberjacks, the Minnesota State commit already felt quite prepared for the level of competition considering that he had already competed in a handful of successful games with the St. Cloud Norsemen of the NAHL before and after his season at Chanhassen.

“It was a really good experience just to get some junior hockey games in, since it is definitely a step up from high school hockey. It definitely did prepare me for sure for main camp and training camp going into Muskegon,” he said about his experience in the NAHL. 

Christ eventually made the roster for the team and was a full-time skater in the USHL for the 2024-25 season. That doesn’t mean that things came easy though since the USHL is one of the top junior hockey leagues in the world and has some of the toughest competition possible. 

“The season started off a little slow for me, just kinda trying to find my way into the lineup. I’m a first year guy and it’s a really good team so I started off a little slower,” he said about his first few weeks in Michigan. “I had some talks with my coaches about things I could work on and how I could earn a bigger role and as the year went on I was playing better and getting more comfortable in the league and once playoffs hit I really found myself in a good role and I started playing how I could play.” 

Christ got better and better as the year went on, as did the entire Muskegon team as a whole. The Chaska native says that the entire roster started off a little slow to start the season but then things really started to click as the year went on and eventually everyone realized that this was a special team and a special organization and that they could go all the way and get the job done of winning a Clark Cup. And now, the 5-foot-9 forward will forever be a part of USHL history after winning the championship in hat-trick fashion. 

The past few summers, Christ trained with APX Hockey and has worked hard to further develop and round out his game. 

“It was really good for my development and I loved it,” he said. “The skates were great, the workouts were great and all the coaches were really good coaches and they all really helped me as a player for sure.”

The 19-year-old forward will now head back to Muskegon this fall for his final year of junior hockey eligibility before heading to Mankato to play at the Division I level in the fall of 2026.