After watching Florida Gulf Coast score three straight goals in the opening period, men's ACHA DII ice hockey followed with five unanswered, finishing with a 5-4 win on the road at the Hertz Arena in Fort Myers, Florida. The victory extended the Lions winning streak to begin the season to 16 games and to 23 straight overall dating back to the end of the 2024-25 season that culminated in a national championship.
The Eagles, who outshot Lindenwood 15-11 in the first, scored even-strength goals at the three-minute mark and at 14:26. Then, a roughing penalty on the Lions led to a FGCU power play goal at 19:27.
Lindenwood began the big comeback with two scores in the second, but the first of those didn't come until the latter stages of the period. A charging penalty on the Eagles at 14:42 and a slashing call at 15:04 gave the Lions a five-on-three power play. Just 43 seconds later,
Austin Meers netted the puck off a pass from
Nick Jones to cut the deficit to 3-1.
It looked like that score would remain into the second intermission, but
Finnigan Greeley had other plans as he sounded the horn at 19:39 off a feed from
Ethan Christofferson to pull Lindenwood to within a goal at 3-2. The Lions quickly tied the contest in the opening seconds of the third when
Jack Louko and
Austin Meers set up
Brock Hart for a shot at the 35-second mark.
Moments later,
Brayden Wilson took control of the puck and scored unassisted for his first collegiate goal at 3:23, giving Lindenwood its first lead of the game. The final two goals came in a flurry after a slashing penalty was called on the Lions at 7:11. Florida Gulf Coast was seeking a power play goal that would tie the contest, but Lindenwood quickly turned the tables.
Jack Louko took possession off of a steal and fed a streaking Meers who buried a shot, shorthanded at 7:28.
Instead of a tie, it was a two-goal Lions lead at 5-3. That proved to be the difference as the Eagles eventually scored the man-advantage at 7:41 to make it 5-4, but the Lindenwood defense didn't allow any more goals from there.
FGCU outshot the Lions 35-29 overall.
Cole Wheaton stopped 31 of the 35 shots he faced to earn the victory, including 10 of 11 in the final frame to preserve the team win.
Lindenwood improved to 16-0 on the season. The Lions will return home to host the University of Minnesota December 5-6. The opening faceoff is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. that Friday night and at 3:50 p.m. that Saturday afternoon at the Centene Community Ice Center in Maryland Heights, Missouri.
