Men’s ACHA hockey spent this past weekend playing in the Maryville showcase, and it went really well for the Lions, as they swept each of their three games.
On Thursday night, they took on The University of Missouri and won the game 8-2. Captain Ryan Granville highlighted the game by scoring a natural hat trick in the second period of the game. The first period saw a goal by Gage Vierzba, at the 2:35 mark. Then later in the period, Vierzba scored again to make it 2-0. The Tigers would get a goal with 59 seconds left in the first to make it 2-1.
The second is where the Lions took the first game over. At 5:58 Granville scored to make it 3-1, with both Austin Meers and Stanley Lucas got credited with the assists. Then at 8:11, Granville scored again to make it 4-1, Ethan Christofferson and Zac Maupin got credit for the assists on the goal. Then at 14:37, on the powerplay, Granville netted his hat trick goal to make it 5-1, his third goal in a row. Also on this score, Meers and Lucas both got their second assists of the game. The Lions were not done in the second though, as at 15:15 Maupin scored a goal of his own off a feed from Vierzba to make it 6-1.
In the third, Eli Roofe would add a goal to make it 7-1 for the Lions. Freshman Trent Van Gels earned an assist on the play for his first collegiate point. Maupin would score the eighth, and final, goal for the Lions. To the Tigers’ credit, they did score a goal halfway through the third to make the score 8-2, but that is where the score stayed.
The Lions outshot the Tigers 43-12 in their first game of the showcase, and Lions goalie Cade Kujawski stopped 10 of 12 shots in the win.
In game two of the showcase, which took place on Friday night, the Lions took on the Maryville Saints. Early in the first period, the Lions would get on the board with a goal by Adam Rischbieter. Then towards the end of the period, with about four minutes left, the Saints would get a goal to tie the game at one, going into the second.
Six minutes into the second the Lions scored to make it 2-1. The goal was credited to Christofferson, his first collegiate goal. The assists were credited to Gavin Delfosse and Jacob Behnen. Then, only two minutes later Vierzba would score at 8:40 to make it 3-1. Then at 11:15 on the power play, Granville would score, assisted by Lucas and Chase McClellan to make it 4-1 Lions. The Saints would get a goal of their own with just under two and a half minutes remaining in the period.
The third period was filled with penalties, meaning there was not much flow to the period. The Lions would score their fifth goal of the game with under two minutes to play. The goal scorer was Lucas, making the final score 5-2 Lions. The Lions outshot the Saints 46-16 and Lions goalie Cole Wheaton stopped 14 of 16 shots faced.
In the third and final game of the showcase, the Lions took on the Arkansas Razorbacks, in game that was filled with offense from the Lions. The scoring started early and often as Brett Robinson scored just over three minutes into the game off a pass from Alex Villa that made it 1-0. Then at 6:45 Logan Millhausen made it 2-0 Lions. Then just over the 10 minute mark at 10:23, Delfosse scored his first collegiate goal that made it 3-0. Later in the period is when things got crazy, with the Lions scoring three goals in just 47 seconds. First, it was Robinson scoring his second of the game from Jake Lange and Shane Ziegler at 16:27. Then, at 16:56 Lucas lit the lamp, Then at 17:14, Delfosse scored again to make the score 6-0. At 17:50 the Razorbacks would get a goal, but then less than two minutes later, Meers would score to make it 7-1 Lions at the end of the period.
Things were not as crazy in the second period, however. The Razorbacks would capitalize on a 5-3 power play, which would make the score 7-2. At 16:12 Robinson would complete the hat trick netting his third of the game, to give the Lions a 8-2 lead.
The Lions would not slow down going into the third period. At 6:32, Mullen scored to make it 9-2. At 7:08, Rischbieter would add one giving the Lions double digit goals. Then at 16:46, Trent Sylvester would score his first of the season to make it 11-2. The Razorbacks would add a third goal with less than two minutes left in the game. Lindenwood outshot the Razorbacks 48-29, and Lions netminder, Justin Grenon stopped 26 of 29 Razorback shots.
The Lions went a perfect 3-0 at the Maryville showcase, improving their season record to 6-1. Next up for them is the Lindenwood showcase, where they are set to face Weber State University at 10 p.m. Friday Oct. 18th, the University of Iowa at 8 p.m. Saturday Oct. 19th, and Trine University at 2 p.m. Sunday Oct. 20th with all games taking place at the Centene Community Ice Center in Maryland Heights, Missouri.
