men's ACHA D2.5708
Don Adams Jr.

Men's Ice Hockey - ACHA DII

Men’s ACHA D2 Hockey Splits with Florida Gulf Coast

Men's ACHA Division II ice hockey defeated Florida Gulf Coast 4-3 in overtime Friday night before falling to the Eagles 9-5 Saturday night at Hertz Arena in Estero, Florida.

In the series opener, neither team was able to get on the board in the first, but the Lions took a 1-0 lead early in the second when an Austin Meers shot found its mark off a pass from Gage Vierzba at 2:49. FGCU answered with back-to-back even strength goals at 6:19 and 10:46 to build a 2-1 advantage, but Nolan Kahl tied the contest at the 13:06 mark off a Michael Mullen feed.

The Eagles had possession of the puck in the opening minutes of the third, but Brett Robinson capitalized on a turnover and buried it in the back of the net unassisted at 5:44. Lindenwood played great defense for most of the final frame, but FGCU miraculously tied the game at 3-3 with just two seconds remaining in regulation.

The Eagles had the majority of the scoring chances in the five-minute, sudden-death overtime session, but the Lions defended well. Mullen ultimately took possession of the puck and snapped the game-winning shot unassisted at 4:26.

Florida Gulf Coast outshot Lindenwood 36-26 and Ethan Paulin-Hatch stopped 33 of the 36 pucks he faced to earn the victory in goal. The Lions went scoreless on four power plays while holding the Eagles without a goal on two man-advantage opportunities.

The final game of the two-game set proved to be a wild one with Lindenwood giving up six goals in the second period. FGCU opened up a two-goal advantage in the first before Stanley Lucas sounded the horn on the power play with help from Sean McMahon and Zac Maupin at 1:05 of the second, but the Eagles answered just 12-seconds later, then took a 4-1 lead at 4:56. With things on the verge of getting away, Lindenwood scored two within a nine-second period, the first coming off the blade of Sam Watson at 6:03, assisted by Logan Millhausen, then Anthony Tinsley split the pipes at 6:12 on a play set up by Praveen Dhaliwal and Millhousen and the FGCU lead had been cut to 4-3.

From that point, things did get away from the Lions as they yielded four goals in the final 12:30 of the period, two at even strength and two on the power play.

The final period featured 62-minutes of penalty calls and three power play goals. Lindenwood scored two of them, beginning with an Austin Meers shot at 8:07, assisted by Watson and McMahon. The Eagles scored with the man-advantage at 13:15 before Brett Robinson set up Kahl for the final goal at 18:26. Tempers erupted in the final minute and no less than five players were sent to the showers early due to penalties.

The Lions outshot FGCU 48-33 and Paulin-Hatch made 24 saves on the 33 shots he faced. Lindenwood scored three goals on four official power plays while the Eagles scored three on five man-advantage chances.

With the series split, the Lions are now 15-4 on the season. After a Thanksgiving weekend break, they return to home ice against Utah State University December 2-3. The opening faceoff is scheduled for 8:55 p.m. Friday night and at 2:10 p.m. Saturday afternoon at Centene Community Ice Center in Maryland Heights, Missouri.
 
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Players Mentioned

Praveen Dhaliwal

#19 Praveen Dhaliwal

F
6' 1"
Senior
Right
Stanley Lucas

#20 Stanley Lucas

F
6' 0"
Junior
Right
Sean McMahon

#12 Sean McMahon

F
6' 0"
Senior
Right
Michael Mullen

#22 Michael Mullen

F
6' 1"
Junior
Right
Ethan Paulin-Hatch

#31 Ethan Paulin-Hatch

G
6' 1"
Senior
Left
Sam Watson

#21 Sam Watson

F
6' 3"
Senior
Right
Nolan Kahl

#18 Nolan Kahl

F
5' 11"
Sophomore
Right
Zac Maupin

#11 Zac Maupin

F
6' 1"
Freshman
Right
Austin Meers

#9 Austin Meers

F
6' 0"
Freshman
Left
Logan Millhausen

#32 Logan Millhausen

F
5' 9"
Freshman
Right

Players Mentioned

Praveen Dhaliwal

#19 Praveen Dhaliwal

6' 1"
Senior
Right
F
Stanley Lucas

#20 Stanley Lucas

6' 0"
Junior
Right
F
Sean McMahon

#12 Sean McMahon

6' 0"
Senior
Right
F
Michael Mullen

#22 Michael Mullen

6' 1"
Junior
Right
F
Ethan Paulin-Hatch

#31 Ethan Paulin-Hatch

6' 1"
Senior
Left
G
Sam Watson

#21 Sam Watson

6' 3"
Senior
Right
F
Nolan Kahl

#18 Nolan Kahl

5' 11"
Sophomore
Right
F
Zac Maupin

#11 Zac Maupin

6' 1"
Freshman
Right
F
Austin Meers

#9 Austin Meers

6' 0"
Freshman
Left
F
Logan Millhausen

#32 Logan Millhausen

5' 9"
Freshman
Right
F