Saturday's box score
MADISON, Wis. – Netminder Owen Nelson won his fourth straight start and three different Tri-City players contributed goals as the Storm knocked off the Madison Capitols 3-2 on Saturday night at Legacy 20 Arena.
Tri-City (21-19-5, 47 pts) has won six of its past eight games. Madison (25-15-3, 53 pts) snapped a league-active best seven-game winning streak.
The Storm struck first, producing a shorthanded goal just 44 seconds into regulation. As Tri-City rushed down the left wing of its offensive zone, Mason Jenson dropped a feed to Noah LaPointe near the top of the left circle. The Arizona State commit quickly snapped a shot top shelf beyond Madison netminder Brady Krey for his first goal since November 21.
Tri-City doubled its lead at the 14:03 mark of the opening frame. Not long after a Madison turnover in front of the Capitols' net, Ashton Dahms retrieved the puck and swung it around the outstretched right pad of Krey for his team-leading 14th marker of the campaign. Cam Springer and Luca Jarvis were handed assists on the tally.
Madison got on the board with just under four minutes remaining in the second. Gavin Uhlenkamp rushed up the right wing of the Tri-City zone, then sent the puck toward Nelson. The puck slowly trickled toward the left side of the Tri-City crease, where an open Jet Kwajah popped it home on the backdoor for his third goal of the season.
The Storm returned to a two-goal advantage 4:54 into the third. As Tri-City maneuvered around the Madison net, Cooper Ernewein caught a pass from Adam Obusek and sent a shot past Krey's blocker side just inside the left post. The goal was Ernewein's first since October 17.
Down two goals with approximately two minutes to go in the third, the Capitols pulled Krey for an extra attacker. Madison narrowed the Tri-City lead to one with just over a minute left. Amongst tons of netfront traffic, Nolan Geerdes snuck a shot past Nelson from the left halfwall of the Storm zone for his fifth marker of the year.
Krey remained out of the net in the game's final minute but the Capitols failed to equalize.
Nelson was outstanding in the Tri-City cage, stopping 37 of 39 Madison shots. The Hudson, Wisconsin native has logged a save percentage of .944 (118 saves on 125 shots) over his past four starts.
Krey halted 21 of 24 Storm shots on the night.
Up next: Tri-City visits the Chicago Steel for a two-game series next weekend. Saturday's opener is set for 7:05 pm CT. Sunday's game will begin at 3:05 pm CT. Each contest will be broadcast on FloHockey and Storm Radio.