Madison returns home for the first time since November 15th to face off against Sioux Falls for the only two meetings between the two this season. Following the two games with the Herd, Madison will head to Cedar Rapids on Sunday. The Capitols enter the weekend riding the longest active point streak in the USHL at eight games.

WEEKEND RECA?
The Caps had the Thanksgiving weekend off after facing off against the NTDP the week prior. Against the NTDP, Madison skated away with two wins and the team's first sweep of the 2025-26 season. Madison outscored the U17s 13-3 over the two games including an 8-0 win to conclude the month of November for the Capitols. The shutout was the first of the season for Madison and the third in the career of Caleb Heil. With the blanking of the NTDP, Heil breaks a team record for most shutouts in the Tier 1 history of the organization with three over two seasons.

HERD THAT? SIOUX FALLS TRAVELS TO MADISON
The top seeded team in the Western Conference heads into Madison for the only time the Caps will face them this season. Sioux Falls enters with a two-point lead on Fargo following a sweep of the NTDP U17s last weekend. The Stampede were supposed to play on Tuesday against Des Moines, but an illness spread through their team resulting in postponement of the game. The Stampede will be without their leading scorer, Brent Solomon, along with defenseman Jake Prunty this weekend as they compete at the World Junior A Challenge in Quebec. Head Coach Ryan Cruthers will serve as an assistant coach at the event under Madison's Andy Brandt as well.

RIDING INTO CEDAR RAPIDS
Madison heads into the Stable on Sunday to face off against Cedar Rapids for the fourth time this season. The Capitols are 2-1-0-0 against the Riders this season with both wins coming on the road. The two teams meet six times this season, four in Cedar Rapids and twice in Madison. It will be the third game of the weekend for both teams as the RoughRiders travel to Chicago on Friday and Dubuque on Saturday. Puck drop is scheduled for 4:05 pm in Cedar Rapids on Sunday.

U-S-A, U-S-A, U-S-A
USA Hockey announced their preliminary roster for the World Junior Championships earlier this week. The Capitols have two players, one current and one alum, that will be dawning the stars and stripes looking to make the final roster to compete for the third straight gold medal for their country. Caleb Heil becomes the first player in organization history to be named to the roster while on the team's active roster. Heil is 10-4-0-2 this season in net for Madison and is one of three goaltenders on the roster. The 2024-25 USHL Rookie of the Year, Ryker Lee, has also found himself on the preliminary roster. Lee had the second best statistical season in the team's Tier 1 history last season registering 68 points.

CAPS MISSING THREE AT WORLD JUNIOR A CHALLENGE
Madison will be without two players and one coach for the next two weekends as Team USA competes at the World Junior A Challenge in Quebec looking to defend the gold medal. Caleb Heil and John Stout both played on the team last season that won the event. This will be Heil's third World Junior A Challenge going a perfect 5-0 over the two seasons. Stout was an alternate captain on the team last season. Capitols coach Andy Brandt will serve as the team's Head Coach at the event. Brandt served as an assistant coach under Matt Smaby, now the Associate Head Coach at North Dakota, last year.

STEPHEN'S GOT IT COVERED
Capitols forward Stephen Cover had his best weekend of his young USHL career against the USNTDP Madison's last time out. Over the two-game series, Cover registered three goals and an assist. The 2009-born Providence commit was playing against the NTDP U17 team, which is skaters from the same birth year as Cover. Cover got a chance to prove that he should have made that team while skating for his USHL team and getting his first career multi-goal game in the process.

NEW LEADERS IN POINTS FOR MADISON
Madison's Gustavs Griva and Gavin Uhlenkamp passed Tyden Bergeson for the team lead in points in the team's last game on November 22 at the NTDP. In the 8-0 victory, Griva scored twice while Uhlenkamp picked up a pair of assists. Griva and Uhlenkamp both now have 17 points on the season, which is the fourth lowest of any team leader in the USHL in points. They are tied for 44th in the USHL in points, which may be partially due to the fact that Madison has as many as five games in hand on teams throughout the league.

BROADCAST & GAME INFORMATION
Puck drop is scheduled for 7:05 pm on Friday and Saturday night at home with the away game on Saturday starting at 4:05 pm. Tickets are available for both Friday and Saturday at tickets.madcapshockey.com. Broadcasts for all three games can be found on FloHockey, make sure to click away feed on Sunday, and an audio feed on the Capitols YouTube channel.

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