From Lindenwood University Athletics
Men’s ACHA Division II ice hockey earned a split with Trine University, posting a 3-0 shutout on Friday, but falling 5-2 on Saturday at the Thunder Ice Arena in Angola, Indiana.
In the opening game of the series, the Lions peppered the opposing goaltender with 19 shots in the first period, but couldn’t get a puck past him. Lindenwood finally broke through at the 4:59 mark of the second when Sam Watson ripped a shot off a feed from Sean McMahon to make it 1-0. The Lions doubled their advantage with 4:08 remaining in the period when Mason Kruger found the back of the net, assisted by Austin Meers and Trent Sylvester. Chase McClellan made it 3-0 with 5:55 left in regulation on a play set up by Stanley Lucas and Adam Rischbieter and that proved to be the final margin.
Lindenwood outshot the Thunder 33-23 and Ethan Paulin-Hatch stopped all 23 shots he faced to earn the victory in goal for the Lions.
In the second game of the series on Saturday, Trine was opportunistic and displayed excellent goaltending. The Thunder scored four goals on just 11 shots in the first period to take control early while their netminder turned away 43 of the 45 pucks he faced, including the final 30 shots on goal.
After a Trine goal opened scoring in the first 68-seconds of the game, the Lions answered with an unassisted effort from Meers at 4:42, but the Thunder responded with three-straight to take a 4-1 lead midway through the opening period. Lindenwood closed the gap to just two when Bryce Leger sounded the horn for his first of the season with help from Kruger and Trent Sylvester, but that’s as close as the Lions would get.
After a scoreless second period, Trine split the pipes early in the third for a 5-2 advantage which essentially sealed the victory.
Lindenwood outshot the Thunder 45-17, and Paulin-Hatch made 12 saves on the 17 shots he faced in a losing effort.
With the split, the Lions moved to 4-1 on the season. They’ll return to the road for three games October 13-15 at the Liberty Showcase. Lindenwood faces the host Flames on Friday at 7:30 p.m., Davenport University at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, and Florida Gulf Coast University at 10:30 a.m. on Sunday with all games being played at the LaHaye Ice Center in Lynchburg, Virginia.
(Originally published at https://lindenwoodlions.com/news/2023/10/7/mens-ice-hockey-acha-dii-mens-acha-d2-hockey-splits-with-trine-university.aspx)
