Lindenwood men’s ACHA D-II hockey took part in the Lindenwood Showcase this past weekend at Centene Community Ice Center in Maryland Heights, Missouri. To say they played well would be an understatement, as they outscored the opponents 25-2 in the three games.
The first game took place on Friday night against Weber State University. The Lions controlled most of the first period, but it took until 15:33 to score the first goal of the game. Brett Robinson scored the opening goal assisted by Jack Louko and Gavin Delfosse. The Lions would carry that 1-0 lead into the second, outshooting the Wildcats 14-3 in the first.
Halfway through the second, Lions Captain Ryan Granville would score his team leading eighth goal of the season off a rebound to make the score 2-0 Lions. At 16:05, the Lions would convert on the power play to make it 3-0. The power play marker was scored by Stanley Lucas, and assisted by Austin Meers and Michael Mullen. Then just 33 seconds later Lucas would score again to make it 4-0 Lions.
Early in the third, on the power play, the Wildcats would break the shutout and make the score 4-1. Then at 6:35, Carter Walby would score his first collegiate goal to make it 5-1 Lions. Zachary Schwartz and Anthony Tinsley got credited with the assists. From there, the Wildcats would score again at 10:21 to make it 5-2. At 16:06 the Lions would light the lamp for a sixth time, as Meers would score a breakaway goal assisted by Trent Sylvester.
The Lions would win the game 6-2 and would also outshoot the Wildcats 42-12 in the game. Lions goalie Justin Grenon stopped 10 of 12 shots he faced in the win.
The next game of the weekend for the Lions was Saturday against the University of Iowa. This game the Lions put on an absolute goal-scoring clinic, and it started early just one minute into the game. Chase McClellan would score first, assisted by Gage Vierzba and Jacob Behnen. Then at 16:33, on the power play, Nick Jones scored his first collegiate goal, assisted by Robinson and Granville. Then at 18:45 of the first, Sylvester would score to make it 3-0, assisted by Ethan Christofferson and Delfosse to close out the period. The Lions outshot the Hawkeyes 13-4 in the opening period.
The second period was no different for the Lions, as 39 seconds in they scored again. Jones scored his second of the game, assisted by Mullen and Granville. Then at 3:46, Granville would score his ninth goal of the season to make it 5-0. That goal was the Lions second power play goal of the contest. At 7:19 Jones would score his third goal of the game, assisted by Behnen and Chase Mcclellan. Then at 15:33, Schwartz made it 7-0, Robinson and Mullen with the assists there. The Lions outshot the Hawkeyes 16-10 in the second.
The third period is when this game turned really ugly, both scoring wise and physically, as the Lions simply overwhelmed the Hawkeyes. At 1:45 the Lions would make it 8-0 on a goal by Christofferson. Then at 3:43, Eli Roofe would make the score 9-0 and the Lions were far from done. At 6:17 Jones would score his fourth goal of the game, after coming into this game without a goal. That goal would let the Lions hit double digits being ahead by 10. Then at 9:44, Christofferson would score his second of the contest. At 11:23, Tinsley would add another one for the Lions. The final goal was scored at 12:11 by Robinson to make the score a drastic 13-0 in favor of the Lions. The Lions outshot the Hawkeyes 25-3 in the third and 54-17 for the game. Lions goalie Cole Wheaton stopped all 17 shots he faced for the shutout win.
The Last game of the showcase saw the Lions take on Trine University. The Lions only loss on the season to this point came against Trine. About halfway into the first period the Lions would light the lamp first with a goal by Behnen, assisted by McClellan and Jones. Then at 19:41, Jones would score his fifth goal of the showcase to make it 2-0 Lions. The Lions outshot Trine University 14-7 in the first.
At 12 minutes in the second period, on the powerplay, Adam Rischbieter would score, assisted by Vierzba and Jack Louko to make it 3-0. Then two minutes later, at 14:03, Vierzba would make it a 4-0 game. The Lions outshot Trine University 15-4 in the second period.
Early on in the third at 2:30 Vierzba would score again to make it 5-0. Vierzba would score his third goal in a row netting him a natural hat trick at 6:19 on the power play. The Lions would win the game 6-0, outshooting Trine 18-0 in the third and 47-11 for the game. Lions goalie Cade Kujawski stopped all 11 shots he faced for the Lions giving them back to back shutout wins.
The Lions sweep the Lindenwood Showcase giving them a seven game winning streak and improving their record to 9-1 on the season. The Lions will try to extend the winning streak against the University of St. Thomas October 25-26 at Centene Community Ice Center.
