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USHL Madison Capitols

Capitols Cannot Dig out of Early Hole in Bloomington

March 7, 2015 - United States Hockey League (USHL)
Madison Capitols News Release


Bloomington, IL- The Madison Capitols (19-18-10) dug themselves a 4-1 deficit in the game's opening half of regulation and never recovered as the Bloomington Thunder (22-20-7) defeated Madison, 5-3 on Saturday at the U.S. Cellular Coliseum.

Bloomington entered the game with a minus-15 goal differential in the opening period, but the Thunder chose to ignore that statistic, charging out of the gates by outshooting Madison 19-6 through 20 minutes.

Bailey Conger picked up the game's opening goal in his first USHL game for the Thunder, locating a loose puck in front of the blue paint and banging it past Garrett Metcalf to give Bloomington a 1-0 lead at 8:06.

Just 41 seconds later, it appeared Madison had stopped the Thunder's momentum, as Freddy Gerard poked a puck loose in center ice, chased it down on the left wing, curled it to the middle of the ice, and beat Thunder goalie Hayden Lavigne to tie the score at 8:47. It was the Rocky River, Ohio native's first goal since Jan. 17 and 14th overall.

However, Bloomington did not slow their roll in the period, as former Capitol draft selection Steven Merl slammed a Jalen Smereck pass between the legs of Metcalf at 12:13 to make it 2-1.

At that point, Metcalf was relieved of his net by Darren Smith after being bombarded with 14 shots in just 12:13 of play.

Bloomington was not finished, though, as Jacob Slaker blasted a slap shot past Smith on the Thunder's lone first period power play at 17:18 to give the home side a 3-1 first intermission lead.

The Thunder power play connected once again in the middle frame, as Ryan Galt found a rebound between the circles off a Nik Koberstein shot and shoveled it past Smith at 10:34 to give Bloomington a 4-1 lead. Bloomington was a perfect 2-for-2 on the power play in the first two periods.

Following a timeout from head coach Luke Strand, the Capitols upped the energy and drew a 5-on-3 power play opportunity late in the period, and Daniel Willett responded with a one-time point blast past Lavigne. The defenseman's second goal in three games on the man-advantage cut it to 4-2 at 18:16.

Madison still had a little less than a minute of 5-on-4 play after the Willett goal, and Sam McCormick narrowly missed the glove-side post in trying to cut the Bloomington lead down to one. However, the Thunder survived and then carried a late Madison penalty into a power play chance at the start of the third period.

Despite the best efforts of Smith in the Madison goal crease, it was not enough for the Capitols. The Barrie, Ontario native did turn in a stupendous save on the immediate third period Bloomington power play. After a puck bounced to Slaker at the right post, Smith reached back with the glove and somehow snatched it out of mid-air to keep the Thunder off the board.

While the power play did not connect a third time, the Thunder would extend the lead to 5-2 at even strength, as Matt Mendelson tipped a Van Barr pass over Smith's outstretched pad at 6:50.

Madison upped the ante after giving up the fifth goal, outshooting the Thunder 15-9 in the final period. Tommy Muck picked up his first goal since Oct. 18 and Miguel Fidler picked up his first point as a Capitol with an assist, but it was too little, too late for the road team.

Bloomington moves to three points ahead of Madison in the East with the victory.

The Capitols will return home on Sunday, March 8 for a 3 p.m. affair and a completion of the home-and-home series with the Bloomington Thunder. Tickets for the Kids Day contest can be ordered via www.madcapshockey.com, www.ticketmaster.com, or by calling (608) 257-CAPS (2277).

2015-16 Madison Capitols season tickets are available now and can be purchased by visiting the Capitols' web site or calling the ticket line, (608) 257-CAPS. Fans who purchase their 2015-16 season tickets by June 1 will also receive a specialty season ticket holder jersey.

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