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USHL Madison Capitols

Three-Goal Burst & Another Strong Smith Start Gives Caps 2nd Win in a Row

March 13, 2015 - United States Hockey League (USHL)
Madison Capitols News Release


Urbandale, IA- The Madison Capitols (21-18-10) tallied three goals in just under eight minutes of game action through the late stages of period one into period two, and the defense held down the fort in a 3-1 victory over the Des Moines Buccaneers (20-18-12) on Friday at Buccaneer Arena.

Statistically a strong first period team, outscoring opponents 47-43 in the opening frame, Madison provided the proof behind that fact with a strong first period push that saw the squad outshoot the Bucs, 17-11. After surviving an early Des Moines pressured attack and power play, thanks to the continued strong play of Darren Smith, the Capitols drew a power play of their own and went to work on the score sheet.

Haralds Egle, who had scored six power play goals on the season and recorded a goal in each of the prior two games, made it a three-game goal streak by banking a puck past Ryland Pashovitz from the left corner to make it 1-0 at 14:44. The Latvian's 15th goal gave him team leadership in the goal column.

However, Egle's sole ownership of the team goal scoring lead would last just 1:35. After Sam McCormick picked up a turnover in the neutral zone, he broke down the right wing side on a 2-on-1 with fellow Ohio State commit Freddy Gerard. After fielding the pass from McCormick, the Capitols' newly named captain toed it up and wristed it through Pashovitz to give Madison a 2-0 edge at 16:19.

Madison wasted little time adding to the 2-0 edge in the middle frame, as the Caps' third line went to work in the corners. Ryan Lohin and Marco Richter won battles, and it was Richter who found a puck in the right corner and centered on the backhand to Miguel Fidler, who quickly snapped it short side to put the Capitols ahead 3-0 at 2:26.

Fidler's first goal as a Capitol also spelled the end of the evening for Pashovitz, who was peppered with 18 shots in just over 22 minutes. Ryan Ruck entered and provided stability in the Des Moines crease.

The Capitols narrowly missed getting Fidler his second of the period on a power play when a puck bounced off the Edina, Minn. native and wide of the goal. After surviving the Madison gauntlet, Des Moines started to push back with some extended offensive zone time.

The Bucs finally cracked their goose egg at 13:14 as Georgy Gorodetsky stepped off the bench against a tired Madison defense and blasted a one timer past Smith to make it 3-1 Capitols. Des Moines came within millimeters of bringing the Madison lead down to one as Ara Nazarian rang a quick slot shot off the post moments later, but the Capitols held down the fort to maintain the two-goal lead through 40 minutes.

The third period began cautiously, with Des Moines slowly upping the ante offensively against a defensively careful Caps squad, but Smith, who has now allowed just 11 goals in his last six games, continued to be stupendous between the pipes, finishing the night with 34 saves in the victory. 12 of Smith's saves came in the third period alone, with many coming through traffic in front of his net.

Smith and the Capitols stay in the state of Iowa on Saturday for a 7 p.m. matchup with the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders. The Riders held on for a 2-1 shootout win last Friday in the same venue. The Capitols then finish up the span of three games in three nights against the Chicago Steel on Sunday at Edge Ice Arena for a 3:30 p.m. start. Both 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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