By Ryan Smith,

Madison, WI– The Madison Capitols (14-9-4) succumbed to a red-hot Green Bay power play and fell to the Gamblers (12-13-2) by a final score of 8-4 on Tuesday night at the Alliant Energy Center.

Green Bay charged out of the gate, hoping to make amends for a six-game losing skid against their state rivals. Just 4:13 into the opening period, the Gamblers jumped on the board first, as Brian Bowen hit Brent Gates Jr. in a 2-on-1 rush, who beat Darren Smith to put Green Bay ahead 1-0.

Green Bay had multiple chances to extend the lead, including a chance where Bowen had a wide open net, but could not beat a sprawling Smith and Daniel Willett.

After narrowly avoiding falling behind by multiple goals, it was Madison that took advantage of a greasy turnover deep in Green Bay ice. Sam Kauppila lost control of the puck near his own net, allowing Will Johnson to steal and feed Guillaume Leclerc, who beat Green Bay goalie Jason Pawloski with just 7.8 seconds to play in the opening period to send the game to the break at 1-1.

Madison looked poised to ride the momentum to another victory, as Tyler Nanne beat Pawloski on a long power play wrister to put the Capitols up 2-1 at just the 2:26 mark of the middle frame.

However, the penalty box, which has been Madison’s kryptonite for much of the season, came back to bite the Capitols. In the span of just 22 seconds, Gamblers’ leading scorer Christopher Brown struck twice on the power play: once from the left side circle on a one-time blast, and once from the right side on a wrist shot. At the 13:04 mark of the period, Madison all of a sudden found itself down 3-2.

Following Brown’s second goal in 22 seconds, Smith was removed from the Madison net in favor of Garrett Metcalf.

The Gamblers would not let Madison sniff victory again in the third period, rattling off another two power play goals from Joe Wegwerth and Brent Gates. Derek Barach also added a pair of goals, including an empty netter, and Bowen also tallied in a 5-goal third period for the Gamblers.

Leclerc and Luke McElhenie each registered goals for Madison in the third period in the losing effort. Green Bay’s power play finished the night a lethal 4-for-7, which proved to be the difference as Green Bay bookended the season series with victories.

Madison lost its four-game winning streak in the loss, but finished the year 6-1-1 against the Gamblers overall.

The last installment of the Wisconsin state rivalry also marked the Capitols’ last home game until January 21, as they embark on a five-game, three-city road trip beginning on Saturday, Jan. 2 in Lincoln against the Stars. Coverage starts at 7 p.m. on Saturday on 106.7 FM, 1670 The Zone.

Fans are encouraged to check out Madison Capitols flex packages by calling (608) 257-CAPS (2277) or visiting www.madcapshockey.com. Plans start at just $10 per game and vouchers can be used at any Capitols home game in the 2014-15 season.