Madison looked to leave the Fall Classic with an undefeated record for the second time in three seasons. Early on, things were trending in that direction, but the Capitols gave up four straights to exit Pittsburgh with a 1-1-0-0 record on the season.
 
Madison got on the board first just under three minutes into the game with Michael Tang netting his first career USHL goal. Tang was tendered by Madison this offseason becoming just the fourth tender in team history.
 
Tyden Bergeson added to the Caps lead under two minutes later with his first USHL goal. Bergeson played in two games last season for Madison as an affiliated player. The team's second goal was assisted by Cooper Snee who picked up his first USHL point in his first game.
 
First goals continued for Madison with Ville Vaarala striking to make the lead three almost three-quarters of the way through the first period. Vaarala was Madison's first Phase II Draft pick in May. Chris Baird-Gajdos got the secondary assist on the goal, which marked his first USHL point in his season debut.
 
From there, it was all Fargo. Graham Jones scored with under five minutes to go in the first period to get the Force on the board. He would add another with 0.7 seconds left in the first to have the Capitols lead down to one at the first intermission.
 
In the second, former NTDP defenseman Garrett Lindberg scored on the power play halfway through the period to tie the game at two. The Force added another from Jacob Sagadin to take the lead. That Sagadin tally eventually became the game winning goal.
 
Madison had a chance late in the game, but the team took a bench minor for having too many men on the ice.
 
Brady Krey started for Madison in net on Sunday stopping 17 of 21 shots sent his direction.

Next Game
The Capitols will host the Dubuque Fighting Saints for the team's 2025-26 Home Opener on Friday, September 26th. It's a $1 Beer Night presented by Coors Light. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:05 pm. Tickets are on sale at tickets.madcapshockey.com. Coverage can be found on FloHockey and on the Capitols Radio Network on YouTube.
 
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