The roller hockey Gold D4 squad swept three games at the Eastern Collegiate Roller Hockey Association Inter-Regional January 18-19 at Hot Shots Indoor Sports Arena in Mt. Pleasant, Pennsylvania. The Lions topped Slippery Rock D4 9-1 and Farmingdale State College D4 7-2 on Saturday, and then defeated Michigan State D4 on Sunday 7-2.
Lindenwood pounced on the Slippery Rock in the first game of the weekend, scoring three goals in the opening nine minutes.
Nathan Durrans,
Sean Maude, and
Marc Mayer accounted for the Lions tallies before the Pride netted their only goal of the game at 9:35.
Shawn Mott gave Lindenwood a 4-1 advantage with 1:21 remaining in the first, and it was all Lions from there.
Pat Mahoney made it 5-1 at 5:02 of the second, and then Lindenwood added another four goals in the third.
Austin Steger split the pipes early in the frame at even strength, and then added another on the power play four minutes later.
Joe Mula and
Kenny Gibson accounted for the final scores within a 34-second span.
The Lions outshot the Pride 31-18 and
Clayton Davis stopped 17 of 18 for the win in goal. Durrans earned Star #1 honors with one goal and five assists, Mula was named Star #2 with a goal and four assists, and Steger earned Star #3 honors with two goals and an assist.
Lindenwood faced Farmingdale later in the day on Saturday. The Rams eliminated the Lions from the national championship in the semifinals a year ago, but Lindenwood turned the tables this time. Steger and
Anthony Willis gave the Lions a 2-0 lead in the first and never relinquished it. The Rams broke the shutout early in the second, but Lindenwood answered with three in a row, the first coming from Mayer at 7:51. Mula scored just over two minutes later and Durrans beat the final buzzer by just five seconds on the power play for a 5-1 Lions lead. Farmingdale added a goal in the third, sandwiched by two more from Steger, who completed his hat trick.
The Lions outshot the Rams 26-16 and
Tyler Kolly stopped 14 of 16 for the win in goal. Steger earned Star #1 honors with three goals and an assist, Mula was named Star #2 with a goal and three assists, and Mott earned Star #3 honors with two assists.
In the final contest of the weekend on Sunday, Lindenwood skated by Michigan State. Gibson gave the Lions a lead at 7:23, but the Spartans tied the game just over a minute later. It looked like Lindenwood might fall behind after giving up a penalty, but Mayer scored short-handed and it was 2-1 Lions. Maude scored the only goal of the second to make it 3-1, and Steger increased the advantage on the power play just over a minute into the third. Lindenwood added goals from Durrans, Willis, and Mula before Michigan State got one back on the power play with two minutes remaining in the game.
The Lions outshot the Spartans 22-15, and Davis stopped 13 of the 15 pucks he faced. Mayer earned Star #1 honors with a goal and two assists, Gibson was named Star #2 with a goal and two assists, and Steger earned Star #3 recognition with a goal and two assists.
With the three wins, Lindenwood improved to 7-1. The Lions travel to Palatine, Illinois for the Midwest Collegiate Roller Hockey Association Inter-Regional January 25-26. Lindenwood is scheduled to play Michigan State D4 at 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. on Saturday, followed by Grand Valley State University D4 at 12 p.m. Sunday at Hat Trick Hockey.
