USHL Madison Capitols

Capitols Cannot Hold off Late Lancers Push

Published on February 27, 2015 under United States Hockey League (USHL)
Madison Capitols News Release


Omaha, NE- The Madison Capitols (19-17-9) came back from two deficits late in the first two periods, but the Omaha Lancers (26-13-5) made their third lead stand up in a 4-2 triumph over the Capitols on Friday at Ralston Arena.

The two teams got off to a fast-paced start in the game's opening ten minutes with neither side able to crack the goaltenders. Despite the up-and-down nature of the period, the teams combined for just 10 shots in the frame, with Madison registering six of those.

Despite the low shot count, the Lancers got on the board first off a clean faceoff win by Jakob Forsbacka-Karlsson, who found Jimmy Schuldt off the draw. The skilled defenseman then sailed a long wrister past Darren Smith to put Omaha on top 1-0 at 14:51.

Omaha, a team sporting a 16-2-1 record when scoring first, could not hold the lead in the period's closing stages, and Mitch Hults got Madison back even at 18:04.

Sam McCormick spun a puck over the Omaha line while dodging a check attempt, which sprung Freddy Gerard on a mini two-on-one with Hults. The Stoughton native calmly fielded Gerard's aerial pass and backhanded the puck through the legs of Kris Oldham to deadlock the score.

Both teams also had a first period power play, but each went by the wayside.

The game's animosity skyrocketed in the middle frame, with both sides pushing and shoving one another after just about every whistle inside a packed Ralston Arena.

The home fans got to celebrate at 12:25 as Steven Spinner picked up his own rebound after a Will Borgen point shot to give the Lancers a 2-1 lead.

Once again, though, Madison, despite playing with just 17 skaters, was undeterred. On their third power play of the night, the Capitols worked the puck loose and created a three-on-one down low, as Charlie Gerard hit Daniel Willett in the slot. The defenseman then calmly sniped one over Oldham to tie the game at 18:13. Hults picked up his second point of the night with the secondary helper.

For the third straight period, the Lancers got on the board first, as Shane Gersich picked up a loose puck along the goal line on the left wing side, quickly shifted to the backhand, and beat Smith to make it 3-2 at 5:40.

However, unlike the first two frames, Madison could not locate an equalizer, and the Lancers fired the final blow as Schuldt connected for his second of the game, snapping a wrist shot past Smith at 10:09.

Madison put together a hard-nosed, last ditch effort, but Oldham completed his night with 22 stops, including some strong saves in traffic in the final frame. Omaha improved to 17-2-1 in games where they registered the game's first goal.

The Capitols did not lose any ground in the race for the final USHL Eastern Conference playoff spot on Friday, as fourth-place Muskegon fell in regulation to Cedar Rapids, 3-2. Madison remains eight points back of the fourth-place Lumberjacks.

After getting the weekend off, the Capitols will hit the road again next Friday, March 6 to begin a three-game weekend against the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders. Coverage of that matchup can be heard on 106.7 FM, 1670 AM, The Zone, beginning at 7 p.m. After the pit stop in Cedar Rapids, the Capitols will visit the Bloomington Thunder on Saturday for another 7 p.m. puck drop from the U.S. Cellular Coliseum.

The Capitols will then return home Sunday, March 8 for a 3 p.m. affair with the Bloomington Thunder. Tickets for the Kids Day contest can be ordered via the Tickets tab or by calling (608) 257-CAPS (2277).

Check out the Madison Capitols Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



United States Hockey League Stories from February 27, 2015


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central