Stars Open Weekend with Win at Madison
April 4, 2025 - United States Hockey League (USHL)
Lincoln Stars News Release
The Lincoln Stars recorded a dominant second period to defeat the Madison Capitols, 3-1, on Friday night at Bob Suter's Legacy20 Arena.
The Stars trailed 1-0 after 20 minutes but outshot the Capitols, 15-0, and scored three times in the second. Madison (38-17-3-1) outshot Lincoln (42-15-2-0) 17-3 in the third period, but could not solve Yan Shostak, who stopped 23 shots for his 27th win.
The win combined with Sioux Falls' 4-2 loss at Green Bay drops the Stars' magic number to win the Anderson Cup to one. Lincoln has already secured a first-round bye and would guarantee home-ice advantage for the entire Clark Cup Playoffs should it lock up the Anderson Cup for the fourth time in franchise history.
Gavin Uhlenkamp put the Capitols up 1-0 at the 14:31 mark of the first after Colton Jamieson drew all the attention on the near wing before finding Uhlenkamp far side for his 16th goal.
Lincoln (41-15-2-0) responded with a trio of tallies in the second period. Etienne Lessard tied the game up on a rebound at the 3:48 mark after the puck was unable to be pushed away from the net at the edge of the right circle. Lessard is third among USHL defenseman with 41 points and lit the lamp for the sixth time.
Another Union College commit got on the board to give the Stars the lead as Lefty Markonidis scored just 44 seconds later. His wrist shot from atop the right circle at the 4:32 mark was not originally ruled a goal but was changed upon review. Markonidis became the sixth different Star to score 20 goals and set a new franchise single-season record for players to light the lamp 20-or-more times.
Jack Pechar gave the Stars their final goal of the period and a 3-1 lead by sniping a loose puck between the circles at the 12:29 mark. Pechar's 26th goal of the season was also his 46th in three seasons with the Stars, good for the 12th-most in team history. He moved out of a tie with Jared Brown (2005-07) and is a goal away from matching Brandon Bochenski (2000-01) for 11th place.
The Stars and the Capitols wrap up the weekend slate Saturday night at 7:30. Lincoln is 15-2 against Eastern Conference opponents ahead of its final cross-conference game of the season.
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