USHL Madison Capitols

Offense Starts Cooking as Caps Take Cheese Cup Lead

Published on November 28, 2015 under United States Hockey League (USHL)
Madison Capitols News Release


Madison, WI - The Madison Capitols (8-11-0-0) saw a struggling offense return to life in a grand fashion as they knocked off the Green Bay Gamblers (12-7-0-1) on Saturday night at the Alliant Energy Center by a final score of 4-3. The Capitols now lead the Wisconsin Cheese Cup season series by a 2-1 margin.

The Gamblers had the better of the shot counter and the possession in a scoreless first period, but Madison had a strong equalizer in the form of starting goaltender Garrett Metcalf, who stopped 16 shots in the opening frame for the Capitols.

Each team got one chance on the man advantage in the opening period, but neither team was able to strike on their struggling man-power advantages. Madison was able to turn just seven shots at the net of USHL top goaltender Adam Huska, who was perfect in the opening frame. Huska entered Saturday having allowed two goals or fewer in each of his last five starts.

The Capitols would not let Huska's exploits last though, as Alex Payusov took matters into his own hands with 8:10 left in the middle frame to put Madison in front. After making a perfect deke between a defender's legs in the slot, the Canadian-born winger launched a wrister through Huska and into the twine to make it 1-0 Capitols.

Less than two minutes later, Guillaume Leclerc parked himself in front of Huska, and Jordan Ernst threw a left point shot off of Leclerc's stick and in behind the Green Bay goal line to give Madison a two-goal lead at 2-0 with 6:13 left in the period.

Green Bay, coming off a 3-0 comeback last night in Des Moines, would not go away quietly in the second, though, as Sam Saliba walked into the slot on a power play rush and sniped a wrist shot past Metcalf at 15:55 to cut the Madison lead to 2-1. Despite the lead, Metcalf continued to be the far busier goalie, recording a two-period total of 29 saves to just 16 for Huska.

The Capitols would regain insurance in the third period as captain Ryan Lohin made his return to the goal scoring column for the first time in over a month. Again, Ernst provided the puck to the net from the left point. Lohin tipped the first try into Huska, but then hacked away at the rebound to chip it home to make it 3-1 at 2:47 of the third period.

Not to be outdone, the Gamblers continued to make the third period a barnburner for the Capitols, as Connor Murphy threw a backhander home from in tight just under two minutes later to bring the Capitols lead to 3-2.

Despite Green Bay's quick replies and thoughts of a comeback, the Capitols kept finding answers of their own. This time, it was Haralds Egle breaking a goal drought dating back to Oct. 10, as he tipped a Daniel Willett point shot high over Huska and into the twine to make it 4-2 with 13:01 to play.

That goal would turn out to be the game winner, making each of Egle's goals this season game-deciding markers. With just under a minute to play, Joey Marooney parked himself in front with the extra attacker on the ice for Green Bay, tipping the puck past Metcalf to make the final score 4-3.

Metcalf would come up with one final desperation save on a Cam Lee point shot to preserve his 39-save victory, his first goaltending win since Oct. 25.

The Capitols stay at home for a two-game Saturday-Sunday series next weekend against the Fargo Force. Tickets for Dec. 5 (7 p.m.) and Dec. 6 (4 p.m.) are on sale via www.MadCapsHockey.com or through the Capitols' ticket hotline, (608) 257-CAPS (2277).

Saturday's tilt will be the second Craft Beer night of the season, featuring ten different craft brews from Wisconsin and across the U.S., while Sunday is the Superhero/Princess Party inside the Alliant Energy Center with a 4:05 p.m. puck drop. Family Four Packs are available on Sunday, as $48 will get fans four tickets, four sodas, four hot dogs, and four bags of chips. Four-Pack packages can be purchased by calling (608) 257-CAPS (2277) or by checking out the Capitols' promotional post at www.facebook.com/madcapshockey.

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United States Hockey League Stories from November 28, 2015


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