From Lindenwood University Athletics
Men’s ACHA Division II ice hockey completed a two-game sweep with a 5-1 victory over Minnesota Saturday afternoon at the Centene Community Ice Center in Maryland Heights, Missouri.
The Lions jumped ahead of the Gophers early when freshman Brett Robinson netted a shot on a play set up by Nolan Kahl and Sam Watson at 1:36 in the first. Lindenwood made it 2-0 on a goal from Kahl with 7:17 remaining in the period. Watson earned his second assist of the game with Eli Roofe getting the secondary assist.
Neither team scored for the next 19-minutes of gametime. The Lions had a great chance to get their third goal when Minnesota took a slashing penalty, but the Gophers turned the tables with a short-handed effort at the 11:24 mark of the second. It didn’t take long for Lindenwood to regain a two-goal advantage at 3-1 when Robinson sounded the horn for the second time at 13:42 with help from Zac Maupin and Anthony Tinsley.
The Lions controlled the remainder of the contest by keeping the puck in the Minnesota zone for most of the third period. They added two more goals, the first coming from Schwartz at the 2:12 mark, assisted by Stanley Lucas and Adam Rischbieter. The second came with 9:05 remaining when Watson blasted a shot off a feed Sean McMahon and Mason Kruger. That made it 5-1 Lindenwood, which is where the score remained until the final horn.
The Lions outshot the Gophers 51-21 and Justin Grenon stopped 20 out of 21 shots for Lindenwood to earn the victory in goal.men’s ACHA D2.celebration
The Lions had a tough battle with Minnesota on Friday despite a five goal second period. It wasn’t until the final minutes that Lindenwood was able clinch a 6-4 win.
The two teams skated back and forth in the opening period, but it took until the 17:29 mark for a goal and it came from the Gophers. The Lions answered to tie the score 1-1 early in the second. Steve Avalone and Austin Meers set up Ryan Granville at 5:10. Minnesota regained the lead just over a minute later, but Maupin had a response on a play created by Tinsley and Granville at 7:49 and it was 2-2.
Lindenwood took a lead just 14-seconds later off the blade of Avalone, assisted by Tinsley and Gage Vierzba and the Lions quickly made it 4-2 when Lucas scored his first goal of the season with help from Rischbieter and Michael Mullen at the 10:01 mark. As the flurry of offense continued, the Gophers lit the lamp 47-seconds later to pull back within a single tally, but Lindenwood found the back of the net again to make it 5-3. Chase McClellan and Lucas set up Mullen at 13:19.
Things settled down for a bit after that as the defense on both sides took control. The rest of the second and over half of the third ticked by until Minnesota scored at 10:44 to make it a one-goal game again. The Gophers continued to press for an equalizer, but were unsuccessful at even-strength, so they pulled their goalie in the final two minutes for an extra attacker. After more than a minute of defending, McClellan managed to take control of the puck for the Lions. He passed to Watson who sent it to a streaking Jacob Behnen who buried the empty-netter at 19:31 to seal the victory.
Lindenwood outshot Minnesota 55-23 and Ethan Paulin-Hatch stopped 19 of 23 to earn the win in goal.
With the two victories, the Lions improved to 3-0 on the young season. They’ll hit the road for their next five games, beginning with a two-game series against Trine University October 6-7. The opening faceoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. Friday night and at 2 p.m. Saturday afternoon at the Thunder Ice Arena in Angola, Indiana.
(Originally published at https://lindenwoodlions.com/news/2023/10/1/mens-ice-hockey-acha-dii-mens-acha-d2-hockey-sweeps-minnesota.aspx)
