After a convincing win over Maryville two weeks ago to begin the season, men's ACHA DII ice hockey took the show on the road for a 6-1 victory over Liberty Thursday night at the LaHaye Ice Center in Lynchburg, Virginia. The defending national champion Lions showcased pace, poise, and a roster that is already finding chemistry just two games into the season.
Assistant captain
Austin Meers opened scoring in the contest midway through the first period, finishing a slick backdoor feed from
Nick Jones to give Lindenwood an early edge at the10:01 mark.
Logan Millhausen earned the secondary assist on the play. The 1-0 lead was doubled when Adrian transfer
Gabriel Vijuk beat the Flames netminder with a quick release from the slot at the 18-minute mark with help from
Eli Roofe and
Brett Bell. Lindenwood outshot Liberty 18-5 in the first 20 minutes and carried a 2-0 advantage into the first intermission.
The Lions kept their foot on the gas in the second. After a clean faceoff win,
Brock Hart fired one through traffic and
Ethan Christofferson buried the rebound to make it 3-0 at 2:43. The Flames managed their only goal of the game on the power play at 19:02 after a Lindenwood roughing penalty, but the Lions maintained a 3-1 advantage at the second intermission.
Lindenwood dominated the final frame with three unanswered.
Zac Maupin sniped one low glove from the dot at 3:23 on a play set up by
Gavin Delfosse and
Ethan Christofferson, then freshman
Easton Portner stole the show late. He netted his first collegiate career goal on a crafty backhand at 8:26, assisted by
Gage Vierzba and
Jake Lange before adding his second with just eight ticks left in the game for the final 6-1 margin.
The Lions outshot Liberty 42 to 15 and
Justin Grenon stopped 14 of the 15 pucks he faced to earn the victory in goal. Through the first two games of the season, Lindenwood outscored its opponents 14-2 and outshot them 90-39.
Assistant Coach Rick Trautwine was happy about how the squad has played so far.
"It's early, but this team looks fast, connected, and confident," he said. "It's a group of players with both structure and swagger."
The Lions go for the sweep in the final game of the series Friday afternoon. The puck drops at 1:30 p.m. EDT at the LaHaye Ice Center.
