Men's ice hockey took an early lead, but it evaporated quickly in a 9-1 loss against the University of Denver Saturday night at Magness Arena in Denver, Colorado.

The Lions jumped in front in the opening two minutes of the game when Mitch Allard scored off a feed from David Gagnon at the 1:49 mark of the first period, but the Pioneers responded with the next four goals to take a 4-1 advantage at intermission.  Denver added another four tallies in the second and sounded the horn once more in the third for the final margin.

The Pioneers outshot Lindenwood 58-14.  Starting netminder Stephen Friedland stopped 23 of the 29 pucks he faced before freshman Trent Burnham saved 26 of the 29 shots he faced in relief.

The Lions went scoreless in three power play opportunities while Denver scored twice in four man-advantage chances.  

With the loss, Lindenwood drops to 2-1-0.  The Lions return to the ice for their first Central States Collegiate Hockey League series of the season in home-and-home fashion October 8-9 against the University of Illinois.  The puck drops at 7 p.m. Friday night at the Illinois Ice Arena in Champaign – Urbana, Illinois and at 4:30 p.m. Saturday afternoon at the Centene Community Ice Center in Maryland Heights, Missouri.