The Lindenwood Lions men’s hockey team took on the Stonehill Skyhawks and defeated them by a hegemonizing score of 7-1 on Friday, Jan. 26 and by a score of 6-5 in overtime on Saturday, Jan. 27.
The first goal of the game came as Mitch Allard lofted the puck to Kyle Jeffers to start the Lions off 1-0. Fast forward to the 11th minute in the game, team captain Aiden Yakimchuk was able to rack his first of three goals for the night, along with Lindenwood’s first ever NCAA Division 1 hat-trick. Jeffers managed to make it in later on and score his second goal of the game for Lindenwood, concluding scoring for the Lions in the first period.
The Skyhawks got their only goal of the game, just after six minutes into the second period, scored by Frank Ireland. Going forward, everything else was the Lions. Ethan Zielke scored on an unassisted power play, at 16:11, putting Lindenwood up 4-1.
The Lions recorded three goals in the third period, starting with Yakimchuk notching his first of two goals at 9:03, David Gagnon capitalizing at 11:11, and Yakimchuk completing his hat-trick at 18:45. Lindenwood goalie Trent Burnham finished with a 95.5 save percentage, allowing one goal, and stopping 21 shots. The Lions won the game 7-1.
On Saturday, the Lions found themselves playing a more competitive game against the Skyhawks. The game was highly defensive through the majority of the first period, though eventually, Caige Sterzer struck in and gave the Lions a 1-0 lead. Stonehill’s Justin Barker later arrived and tied the game up at 19:04.
After a fiercely defensive first period, the game had itself a quiet offensive second period. Lindenwood’s Adam Conquest scored at 6:14, and David Gagnon followed further increasing the lead at 7:12.
Come shortly after the tenth minute, Stonehill’s Ryan Davis cut Lindenwood’s lead to one goal, and in the 18th minute, Matt Allen swept in to tie the game back up. Eventually, with 38 seconds left in the second period, Craig’s Sterzer managed to take charge, score, and ultimately allow the Lions to take back the lead.
In the third, after a thorough defensive first-half third period, Jaeden Mercier put in the first goal at 10:11. But despite a 5-3 third period lead, with less than 10 minutes to go, the Skyhawks did not quit. As Justin Barker knocked in a lead-decreasing goal at 15:50, and with Stonehill pulling the goalie and adding in an extra skater, Justin Baker was able to attack and tie the game back up, giving the Stonehill Skyhawks a shot at receiving their very first win of the season.
No regulation goals were scored afterward from there, and with a 5-5 tied score, the game then entered overtime.
Midway in OT, Kyle Jeffers managed to steal the puck in the defensive area, escape, and enter the breakaway, thereon taking the puck down the ice, and nicking it into the net. Giving the Lions a 6-5 victory, and conclusively sweeping the series versus the Stonehill Skyhawks. Trent Burnham was a force to reckon with in the net, stopping 23 out of 28 shots, succumbing to an 82.1 save percentage in the game, and 87.8% through the series.
This Friday, the Lions will be visiting Tempe, Arizona to combat the Arizona State University Sun Devils, on Feb. 3rd and 4th. They then meet up with the Stonehill Skyhawks once again, but in Massachusetts for two games on Feb. 9 and Feb. 10.
The team returns home for their final series of the season against the University of Alaska Anchorage on Friday, Feb. 16, and Saturday, Feb. 17. Puck drop on Friday is scheduled for 7:10 p.m., and 6:00 p.m. on Saturday.
