In a game that included 141 minutes of penalty calls, the men's ACHA DII ice hockey power play went wild with six man-advantage goals in a 9-1 victory over Liberty in the Lindenwood Showcase Sunday afternoon at Centene Community Ice Center in Maryland Heights, Missouri.
The first call was against the Flames just 35 seconds into the contest and the ref's arm went up for another 29 calls against both teams combined before the end of regulation. The Lions did not score on that first power play, but they did on the next two. A boarding penalty led to an
Austin Meers goal at 4:14, assisted by
Gavin Delfosse and
Jack Louko. Just 11 seconds later, Liberty was called for tripping and it only took seven seconds for
Nick Jones to score on a play set up by Meers and
Brock Hart. Those two goals turned out to be the only two in the period and Lindenwood took a 2-0 lead into the first intermission.
Things really turned wild in the second as the Lions scored six times and the two squads combined for five power play goals. The Flames lit the lamp first at the 4:47 mark to cut the Lindenwood lead to 2-1, but the Lions answered with their six in the final 10 minutes of the middle frame. Hart sounded the horn on one of the few even-strength efforts of the game at 10:56 on a play set up by
Trent Van Gels and
Chase McClellan. Moments later, Liberty was called for holding and Lindenwood went to work, with Louko splitting the pipes at 13:06 with help from Hart and
Nick Jones. The Lions went right back on the power play 21 seconds later and
Finnigan Greeley netted a goal at 15:14, assisted by Meers and Jones to make it 5-1.
Ethan Christofferson found the back of the net on an even-strength play at 16:24 with help from Delfosse and McClellan.
The Flames were called for a major-slashing penalty on the goal and Lindenwood scored two power play goals during the extended time.
Justin Grenon fed Hart at 17:05 for the first of them, followed by the 17
th goal of the season from Jones at 19:31, assisted by Meers and
Brett Robinson. The Lions led 8-1 at the second intermission.
After all the offense in the first two periods, only one goal was scored in the third. It came off the blade of Hart at 6:12 on a play set up by Jones and Meers. Liberty was called for four more penalties the rest of the period, but with the big lead, Lindenwood focused on puck possession and essentially ran out the clock.
The Lions outshot the Flames 57 to 23, including a 28 to 7 margin in the second period.
Justin Grenon stopped 22 of the 23 shots he faced to earn the win in goal for Lindenwood.
With the victory, the Lions swept all three of their games in the Lindenwood Showcase and extended their winning streak to 14 to begin the season and 21 overall dating back to the end of last year. After facing Florida Gulf Coast on Saturday and holding on for a 4-3 win, the Lions will face the Eagles in a two-game series on the road November 21-22. The opening faceoff is set for 8:30 p.m. EST Friday night and at 6 p.m. EST Sunday evening at the Hertz Arena in Fort Myers, Florida.