The Lindenwood men's ACHA division II ice hockey team fell 4-2 to the Maryville Saints Sunday afternoon in the final game of the Lindenwood Winter Classic at Centene Community Ice Center in Maryland Heights, Missouri. Sunday's loss snapped the Lions 16 game win streak and the Lions perfect record on home ice this season.
The Saints drew first blood Friday night as they jumped ahead 1-0 4:28 into the first period. At 13:52, Maryville was called for an elbowing minor penalty, sending the Lions to the power play. The Lions evened the score 41 seconds later when the captain,
Ryan Granville, blistered a puck past the Maryville netminder to tie the game 1-1.
Austin Meers and
Nick Jones started the play and picked up their 30th and 26th assists respectively. For the fourth period in a row, the Lions put 21 pucks on net to the Saints nine, yet the game remained tied 1-1 after the first.
The Lions continued to apply the pressure in the second period and were rewarded at 5:14. After two Saints minor penalties, the Lions went back to work on the power play. While on the 5-3 advantage,
Brett Robinson and Granville found
Austin Meers for his 17th goal of the season. The Lions 2-1 lead did not last long, however. With
Zac Maupin in the box for tripping, the Saints scored at 10:35 tying the game two goals apiece. Once again, the Lions held the Saints to only nine shots and put 22 of their own on goal, yet the game was still deadlocked 2-2 heading into the final period of play.
The third period was a frustrating one for the Lions as they tallied 19 shots on goal but found themselves trailing late in the game. At 12:58, the Saints regained the lead 3-2 after a few costly Lindenwood mistakes allowed Maryville to score a short-handed goal. The Lions put several pucks on net late in the period, including a few excellent scoring chances, but were denied by the Maryville netminder every time. The Saints added an empty-netter at 18:56 to secure a 4-2 road victory Sunday afternoon.
Historically, the Lions have owned the Saints. In their previous 11 meetings, Lindenwood was 10-1 and 3-0-0 this season. However, Maryville had the upper hand Sunday thanks in large part to their goaltender, Kyle Spann, making 60 of 62 saves. The Lions goaltender,
Cade Kujawski, made 22 of 25 saves but was tabbed with the loss. Sunday's defeat drops the Lions to 30-3 on the season and 20-1 on home ice.
The Lions have two regular season games left this season, both against Trine University next weekend at Centene Community Ice Center. The first game is scheduled for 4:10 p.m. on Saturday, February 8th.
