BLOOMINGTON, Ill. — The Bloomington Thunder return home for the final four games of the regular season, starting with a Saturday night matchup against the Madison Capitols.

Following a 5-2 setback against the Muskegon Lumberjacks on Friday night, the Thunder (23-26-4-3, 53 pts) look to get back on the winning track in the final regular season meeting with the Capitols (22-30-1-3, 48 pts).

Madison comes into Saturday night after a Friday night loss to the Green Bay Gamblers. Anthony Callin had both goals for Madison in the 4-2 defeat, while Dryden McKay made 32 saves.

Saturday night is Miller Park Zoo Night, featuring a seal squeeze toy giveaway for the first 500 fans 12-and-younger and a $1 hot dog special, while supplies last. There will be live animals from Miller Park Zoo on hand at the game, including a guinea pig, rabbit, hedgehog, ball python, Uromastyx, a blue-tongued skink, and more. Ticket stubs from the game will get fans into the Zoo for free on Sunday.

Scouting Madison

The Capitols have struggled down the home stretch and are just 2-6-0-2 in their last 10 games, which includes a current four-game winless streak. Madison’s only two wins in its last 10 games came against Tri-City and Sioux Falls, the bottom two teams in the Western Conference.

Defenseman Cole Hults leads Madison in scoring with 31 points and is the only player on the team with more than 30 points. Mick Messner (29 points) and Eugene Fadyeyev (28 points) are the only other two Capitols players with more than 25 points. Collectively, the Capitols average the second-fewest goals per game in the USHL (2.27).

In goal, Dryden McKay ranks 16th among league goaltenders with a 2.63 goals-against-average, but his .918 save percentage is fifth in the league. As a team, Madison has yielded 3.18 goals per game, which is 13th among the 17 teams in the USHL.

Need to Know

• Madison has scored more than three goals just once in its last 11 games. The only time it happened came in a shootout win against Sioux Falls on March 18. The Capitols have averaged just 1.63 goals per game in that stretch.  
   
• The Capitols have the second-worst penalty kill in the USHL and have converted at the lowest clip in the league in road games at 75.2 percent. In 28 road games, Madison has yielded 26 power-play goals to opposing teams.

• Bloomington has excelled on the penalty kill on home ice this season, ranking sixth in the league with an 86.8 percent success rate.

• The Thunder have posted almost a goal more per game on home ice this season, averaging 3.0 goals at the Coliseum compared to 2.1 goals per game on the road this season.

Series History

Bloomington has dominated the all-time series with Madison and has lost just twice in the first 11 matchups between the two teams. After the Capitols won the first meeting this year on Oct. 30, Bloomington has won each of the last two meetings in convincing fashion. The Thunder have outscored Madison 9-2 between the last two games, including a 4-1 win in the most recent matchup on March 4. On home ice, Bloomington is undefeated against the Capitols with a 5-0-0 record.

Players to Watch

Bloomington: Christiano Versich — The Colorado College recruit posted his second career multi-goal game on Friday night in Muskegon, his first since Feb. 12, 2016, when he was with the Chicago Steel. Versich has eight points (3 G, 5 A) in 11 games with the Thunder since joining the team at the trade deadline at the end of February.

Madison: Cole Hults — The defenseman leads the Capitols in scoring and committed to Penn State earlier this week. In his second full season in the USHL, Hults has almost tripled in scoring. He posted eight points last season in 54 games and has 31 points in 55 games this year.

Drawing Connections

The two teams have players committed to two of the same schools, Colgate University and the University of Wisconsin. Bloomington’s Wyatt Kalynuk and Brady Smith are future teammates of Madison’s Mick Messner and Daniel Lebedeff at UW, while Bloomington’s Griffin Lunn will play with Nicholas Austin at Colgate.  

Thunder forward Christiano Versich and defenseman Jason Smallidge both played their high school hockey at St. Thomas Academy, the same high school that Madison’s Billy Jerry played at.

Bloomington defenseman Dan Willett played 113 games for the Capitols from 2013-15 before the Thunder acquired him during the 2016 USHL Draft.

Follow Along
Audio (free): WJBC.com | Live stats: USHL.com

Watch (paid subscription): HockeyTV

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Up Next
The Thunder conclude the weekend with a matchup against the Cedar Rapids on Sunday at 4 p.m. Sunday is a Hy-Vee Family Fun Sunday and tickets are just $7 with a Hy-Vee Family Fun Sunday ticket voucher. Fans can print vouchers online using this link. It’s also a Thunder ‘Swag Poster’ giveaway for the first 500 fans.

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