A quick start from men's ACHA DII ice hockey led to a 5-2 win and a series sweep over Trine Sunday afternoon at the Centene Community Ice Center in Maryland Heights, Missouri.

After a scoreless game the first seven minutes, the Thunder were called for slashing and that led to a Ryan Granville power play goal at 8:28. Austin Meers earned his 33^rd assist of the season and Brett Robinson his 29^th on the play. The Lions doubled their advantage just 24-seconds later when Adam Rischbieter and Gage Vierzba set up Eli Roofe for an even-strength blast. Later in the period, Praveen Dhaliwal netted just his second goal of the year with help from Ethan Christofferson and Chase McClellan at 18:18 and it was 3-0 after the first.

Lindenwood added two in the middle frame to build a 5-0 lead. Nolan Kahl sounded the horn at 2:54 on a play set up by Granville and Trent Sylvester, then Jack Louko scored off a pass from Nick Jones at 16:32.

Trine finally broke the shutout early in the third, five-on-five at 3:05. With the four-goal advantage, Robinson was a bit careless with his stick and was called for high-sticking at 10:58. That led to a second Thunder goal just over a minute later and it was 5-2, which proved to be the final margin.

The Lions outshot Trine 21-4 in the first, 13-3 in the second, and 13-6 in the third for a 47-13 advantage overall. Cole Wheaton stopped 11 of 13 shots to earn the victory in goal.

With the win, Lindenwood completes the regular season with a record of 32-3 and now awaits the American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) Men's Division II National Championship. The Lions were ranked No. 1 in the latest Central Division Rankings and are expected to be seeded directly into pool play at the event, which begins March 14 at the Centene Community Ice Center in Maryland Heights, Missouri.