From Lindenwood Athletics
Men’s ACHA Division II ice hockey finished a sweep of Miami University (Ohio) with a 4-1 victory Saturday afternoon at the Centene Community Ice Center in Maryland Heights, Missouri.
Despite the three-goal win, the Lions actually trailed early after the Redhawks turned the tables while killing off a penalty and scored short-handed with just 21-seconds remaining in the first, but it was all Lindenwood from there.
Jack Radley netted a shot off a feed from Josh Linn at 9:06 of the second to tie the game, then Jacob Behnen set up Chase McClellan with 2:41 left in the period to give the Lions a 2-1 lead. That’s where the score stayed until late in the third. Lindenwood was killing off a slashing penalty when Bradley Rupp stole the puck and passed to Eli Roofe who then fed Michael Mullen for a short-handed effort with 3:05 remaining in regulation. Now trailing by two goals, Miami pulled the goaltender, but Nolan Kahl took possession and set up Ethan Becker for an empty-netter just three seconds before the final horn.
The Lions outshot the Redhawks 46-21 and Michael Errico stopped 20 of the 21 shots he faced to earn the victory in goal. Lindenwood went 0/5 on the power play but held Miami scoreless on four man-advantage chances.
The Lions won the first game of the series 4-2 Friday night. In similar fashion, they fell behind in the early stages of the first, but rallied to tie the contest later in the period. Three goals in the second gave Lindenwood a lead that was not relinquished.
The Redhawks opening score came at the 7:36 mark, but a tripping penalty gave the Lions a power play moments later and Linn took quick advantage just eight seconds into man-advantage with help from Stanley Lucas and Radley at 10:18.
The three-goal outburst in the second was aided by another Miami penalty early in the period. Mullen capitalized on the power play at the 2:08 mark, assisted by McClellan and Sean McMahon. McClellan and Kahl created an opportunity for Radley to score his 16th goal of the season with 7:48 remaining, then McClellan split the pipes at 19:22 on a play setup by Roofe and Alex Villa and Lindenwood carried a 4-1 lead into the final period.
The Redhawks amped up their offensive pressure, but the Lions defense held strong in the final 20-minutes, only yielding a power play goal midway through the third.
Lindenwood outshot Miami 40-22 and Ethan Paulin-Hatch stopped 20 of the 22 shots he faced to earn the victory in goal. The Lions went 2/6 on the power play while holding the Redhawks to one score in three man-advantage chances.
With the two wins, Lindenwood improved to 25-5-0 on the season. The Lions wrap up their regular season with a two-game Senior Weekend series at home against the University of Mary February 11-12. The opening faceoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. Saturday night and at 2 p.m. Sunday afternoon at the Centene Community Ice Center.
(Originally published at https://lindenwoodlions.com/news/2023/2/4/mens-ice-hockey-acha-dii-mens-acha-d2-hockey-sweeps-miami-ohio.aspx)
