By Ryan Smith,

Madison, WI– The Madison Capitols overcame an early two-goal deficit, but the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders prevailed with three power-play goals to take the 5-3 victory at the Alliant Energy Center (Veterans Memorial Coliseum) on Saturday night before a crowd of 6,321.

Cedar Rapids had early plans to spoil the Capitols’ home opener, striking twice in short order in the opening frame. First, Erik Foley cut into the slot and accepted a pass before backhanding it past Capitols goalie Darren Smith to make it 1-0 at 10:25.

Just under two minutes later, after Robby Fosdick was whistled for boarding for Madison, the RoughRiders struck immediately on the ensuing power play, as a Mitch Reinke point shot slowly bounced past Smith after a deflection to give Cedar Rapids a 2-0 edge.

At that point, Smith was relieved in the Madison crease in favor of Garrett Metcalf, who just 24 hours earlier recorded 27 saves in a 1-0 loss to Sioux Falls.

Metcalf made all the saves necessary to keep the Capitols within two, and in the period’s dying seconds, Madison struck. After a mad scramble around the crease on the right side, Mitch Hults (Stoughton, Wis.) found the loose disc and backhanded it over Larkin’s arm to cut the lead in half, 2-1, with just 2.8 seconds remaining in the first.

Madison carried over the momentum from Hults’ late tally and tied the game quickly to start the middle frame. Lohin fed Tommy Muck at the right point. With traffic surrounding the Cedar Rapids net, the defenseman took a wrist shot that made its way through the crowd to beat RoughRider goalie Ryan Larkin to deadlock the game, 2-2 at the 2:14 mark.

The RoughRiders then had a golden opportunity to untie the game when Ross Colton was awarded a penalty shot after being hooked down by Alec Vanko. However, Metcalf remained calm and padded aside the bid from the Cedar Rapids forward to keep the game tied, 2-2.

Cedar Rapids then went to work with the power play in the third period, scoring a pair of extra-man goals courtesy of Colton and Jiri Fronk.

Marco Richter (Vienna, Austria) got one back for the Capitols at the 14:22 mark to cut the lead to 4-3. It was the Austrian’s first USHL goal.

However, the Capitols could not muster a final tally, as Larkin made a clutch save in the game’s dying seconds, and Andrew Oglevie backhanded a puck into an empty net to round out the scoring.

The Capitols return to Coliseum ice next Friday, October 24 to host the Sioux Falls Stampede. Puck drop is set for 7:05 p.m. It will be the first of the Capitols’ $1 beer nights in the regular season. Tickets can be purchased via Ticketmaster, at www.madcapshockey.com, by calling (608) 257-CAPS (2277). Fans can also purchase tickets at the Alliant Energy Center box office on the day of the game.

The game can also be heard on 106.7 FM/1670 AM, The Zone, or online at www.madcitysportszone.com.

To purchase your season tickets and receive exclusive season ticket holder benefits and save the most money on ticket prices, or to learn more about packages, contact the Capitols’ ticket line at (608) 257-CAPS (2277) or visit www.madcapshockey.com.