The roller hockey Gold D4 squad swept all three games played at the Midwest Collegiate Roller Hockey League Inter-Regional January 25-26 at Hat Trick Hockey in Palatine, Illinois. The Lions played Michigan State D4 twice on Saturday, earning a 6-0 shutout in the first game and an 8-1 victory in the second, then stopped Grand Valley State University D4 5-1 on Sunday.
In the opening game against the Michigan State, Lindenwood scored once in each of the first two periods, and then exploded for four goals in the third.
Austin Steger accounted for two of them, with
Pat Mahoney,
Kenny Gibson,
Marc Mayer, and
Drew Labeau each scoring once. Steger earned Star #1 honors with those two goals, goaltender
Tyler Kolly earned Star #2 recognition with a 13 save shutout, and Mayer was named Star #3 with a goal and assist. The Lions outshot the Spartans 22-13.
It was a similar story in the second contest against the Michigan State, although Lindenwood started much quicker with three goals in the opening frame. The Lions added four more in the second period, two of which came on the power play. The Spartans netted their only goal of the game at 5:29 when they stole the puck for a short-handed effort. Lindenwood added the final score of the contest on the power play in the opening minutes of the third. Steger scored twice and helped on three other plays to earn Star #1 honors. Gibson notched a hat-trick with three goals, and also had an assist to earn Star #2 recognition.
Nathan Durrans scored once and had three assists to earn Star #3 honors. Labeau and
Anthony Willis each scored once as well to help the Lions cause as
Clayton Davis stopped 11 of 12 shots to earn the win in goal. Lindenwood outshot Michigan State 23-12.
The Lions started slowly in their lone game on Sunday against the Lakers as it took until midway through the second before Lindenwood took a lead. Grand Valley split the pipes at even strength at 9:14 of the first before the Lions answered with back-to-back goals from Mayer at 5:08 and 10:03 in the second.
Sean Maude made it 3-1 Lindenwood at 2:12 of the third, and the Lions sealed the victory with power play goals from Durrans and Steger at 3:58 and 6:59 respectively.
The Lions outshot the Lakers 29-10 and Kolly made nine saves on 10 shots in goal. Mayer earned Star #1 recognition with two goals, Steger was named Star #2 with a goal and assist, and Durrans earned Star #3 honors with a goal and assist.
With the three wins, roller hockey Gold improved to 10-1 overall on the season. After a three-week break, Lindenwood returns to action for conference play in the Great Plains Collegiate Inline Hockey League February 14-15 at Matteson Square Gardens in St. Peters, Missouri.
