Sports stats



USHL Madison Capitols

Weekend Preview: First of Three with Chicago

November 29, 2024 - United States Hockey League (USHL)
Madison Capitols News Release


The Capitols hit the road on Saturday for the first of three straight games with the Chicago Steel. Saturday evening's contest marks the final game in November for Madison, and the final game before members of the Capitols head to play in the World Junior A Challenge.

Quick Hits

The Capitols enter play this weekend in a tie for first place in the Eastern Conference at 28 points with Dubuque. Madison enters play this weekend with a 13-4-1-1 record to their name, which carries a league best .737 points percentage.

Madison is 2-0-0-0 against Chicago this season outscoring the Steel 16-6 over the two games. The Steel aren't the only team that Madison has outscored this season, though, as the Capitols have the highest scoring offense in the USHL this season being the only team averaging over four goals per game. The Capitols also have the best goal differential in the USHL this season with a +32. The next closest to the Capitols is the Lincoln Stars who have a goal differential of +22, ten less than Madison.

The captain of the Capitols struck four times last weekend in the sweep of Sioux City. Finn Brink scored twice in each game in wins for Madison. Brink now has eleven goals on the season, a career high for Brink, which puts him in a tie for the team lead in goals with Bobby Cowan. The duo are tied for the fourth most goals in the USHL this season.

The Capitols are the only team in the USHL with three players with ten or more goals this season. Finn Brink(11), Bobby Cowan(11), and Ryker Lee(10) are the trio with ten or more goals this season. Madison is one of three teams with ten players having ten or more points this season joining Dubuque and Waterloo in that respect.

Madison's game with Chicago on Saturday marks the final time that the Capitols will have their full 25-man roster until after the holiday break as Caleb Heil, Ryker Lee, Mason Moe, and John Stout will head to the World Junior A Challenge in Alberta prior to next weekend's games against Chicago. The head coach of the Capitols will also miss the next two weekend's worth of games due to the event.

John Stout leads the USHL in plus-minus rating this season with a +21. The defenseman committed to Wisconsin is five clear of second place, which is occupied by Caps defenseman Austin Moline at a +16. In total, the Capitols have four players in the top ten, the most of any team with Egor Barabanov and Ryker Lee each having a +12, tied for sixth.

Last weekend, Capitols defenseman Jet Kwajah made his return to the lineup after being out of the lineup since the team's home opener. Kwajah registered an assist in his return on Friday setting up Jackson Nevers for his first goal with Madison. Kwajah is the second player to be tendered in the history of the Capitols organization. The defenseman hailing from Hamilton, Ontario, is committed to play college hockey at Penn State.

The Capitols have now completed four sweeps of opponents this season after winning 7-6 and 4-2 against Sioux City last weekend. Last season, the Capitols had one sweep all season, and it came in the final weekend of the season against Green Bay.

Scouting Chicago

The Steel enter play this week in a tie for sixth place in the Eastern Conference with Cedar Rapids. Chicago also has played the most games in the Eastern Conference with 21 and will play on Wednesday in Green Bay as well. The Steel are one of the younger teams in the league this season with six U18 players and only one age out.

Chicago has seven players with ten or more points this season led by Aidan Dyer and Ben Yurchuk with 13 points on the season. Their 2024 tenders, Adam Valentini and Callum Croskery, have eight and four points respectively.

Entering play this season, goaltending looked like it would be a strength for the Steel with Louka Cloutier and Jack Parsons coming together to form their duo. After good starts for both, they have struggled as of late. Jack Parsons has allowed four or more goals in six of his last eight appearances, and Cloutier has allowed four or more in seven of his last eight.

Broadcast Information

Saturday night's game will be broadcasted live on FloHockey(subscription required).

Check out the Madison Capitols Statistics

• Discuss this story on the United States Hockey League message board...

United States Hockey League Stories from November 29, 2024


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.

Other Recent Madison Capitols Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central