MADELINE RAINERI | Reporter
Lindenwood men’s ice hockey played two games this weekend at the Wentzville Ice Arena against the sixth-seeded (8-0-0) University of Illinois.
Friday night’s game at 7 p.m. opened with a goal by sophomore defenseman Aapo Nurminen, unassisted, at 5:54 in the first period.
The first period remained scoreless for the Illini.
During the second period, the Lions scored their second of three goals, again by Nurminen and assisted by Tommy Heinzman.
The Illini answered with three goals of their own within the last four minutes of the second period, bringing the score to 3-2 Illinois moving into the third period.
Sophomore forward Jordan Klimovsky scored the final goal of the game shorthanded with assistance by Jake Townsend and Alexander Carlsson.
[perfectpullquote align=”left” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]Despite the 3-on-3 overtime, neither team could score and the game went into shootouts. [/perfectpullquote]
Lindenwood saw goals from senior forward Mike Lozano, junior forward Tommy Heinzman and sophomore forward Ryan Carson. Junior forward Alex Kalau scored the game-winning goal, handing the Illini their first shootout loss of the season.
Lindenwood had the advantage on shots on goal, beating the Illini 35-23 and freshman goalie Cooper Seedott stopped 20 out of 23 pucks in regulation game play according to Lindenwood Student Sports Life.
Saturday’s match at the Wentzville Ice Arena started at 4 p.m. and went the entire first period scoreless from both teams.
The Illini commenced Saturday’s scoring with two goals in the second period, and none from Lindenwood.
The Lions finally put themselves on the board during the third period with a goal from Kalau, assisted by Austin Wilk and Dom Kolbeins.
Illinois scored one more goal in the third period, bringing the final score to 3-1 Illinois, despite Lindenwood’s 36 shots on goal compared to the Illini’s 19 shots on goal, according to the ACHA website.
The University of Illinois gave Lindenwood its first regulation loss of the season.
Lindenwood will play next weekend at the Wentzville Ice Arena. The games are Saturday, Nov. 4, and Sunday, Nov. 5, at 7 p.m. and 2 p.m.
