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USHL Madison Capitols

Smith's Second Shutout Seals Capitols Win

March 8, 2015 - United States Hockey League (USHL)
Madison Capitols News Release


Madison, WI- The Madison Capitols (20-18-10) rode a 30-save shutout from Darren Smith and a two-goal second period to a 3-0 win over the Bloomington Thunder (22-21-7) on Sunday afternoon at the Alliant Energy Center.

After Bloomington raced out of the gates on Saturday for three goals and 19 shots in the opening period, the Thunder could not turn a similar trick on Sunday. Darren Smith started for the Capitols and picked up right where he left off from a 29-save relief appearance on Saturday. The Barrie, Ontario native stopped 15 offerings in the opening frame, including a sprawling right pad save on Mitchell Mattson in tight in the period's waning moments.

At the other end, Madison could not crack Logan Halladay through seven shot attempts, as the two teams went scoreless through a period. Both teams were disciplined as well, with no penalty minutes to speak of in the first 20 minutes.

Smith's strong first period bought his offense time to wake up, and the Capitols exploded through the turnstyles to start the second period. First, Michal Kabac worked a puck off the right wing wall to Hunter Luhmann. Luhmann's backhand bid was kicked by Halladay, but right to Kabac, who flicked the loose puck into the goal just 42 seconds into the period.

Madison was far from done in the period, a stanza that saw the Capitols outshoot the Thunder 15-5. After a spirited fight between Robby Fosdick for Madison and Logan Lambdin for Bloomington, Madison rode the energy to a 2-0 lead. Guillaume Leclerc punched the puck to center off the wall, springing Haralds Egle on a 2-on-1 with Charlie Gerard. Egle looked off Gerard, curled the puck past a sprawling Bloomington defenseman, and beat Halladay into the top shelf for his 14th of the season at 8:19.

Smith took care of his end of things in the middle frame, stopping the few shots that came his way, bringing his two-period total to 20 saves.

The Capitols battened down the hatches in the third, and Smith turned aside ten more shots to complete his 30-save blanking, the first shutout on home ice in Capitols history. It was Smith's second shutout overall; he blanked the Green Bay Gamblers on Dec. 27 at the Resch Center.

The Capitols take to the road for three straight matchups on March 13-15 against Des Moines (7 p.m.), Cedar Rapids (7 p.m.), and Chicago (3:30 p.m.) respectively. Each of those games can be heard on 106.7 FM, 1670 AM The Zone, or online at www.madcitysportszone.com.

Capitols' 2015-16 season tickets are available now by visiting www.MadCapsHockey.com. Fans who pay in full for season tickets by June 1 will receive a specialty season ticket holder jersey. Packages can also be purchased by calling (608) 257-CAPS (2277).

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