The roller hockey Gold squad defeated Slippery Rock 6-1 in the title game to win the National Collegiate Roller Hockey Association (NCRHA) Division AA National Championship Sunday afternoon at the Skatium in Fort Meyers, Florida. The Lions scored just over a minute into first and led throughout the contest on the way to their fourth crown in a row and 18^th overall in program history.

Lindenwood controlled the opening faceoff and immediately put pressure on the Rock. After some nice puck control, Shaun Sapienza pinged a shot off the crossbar. After the restart, Slippery Rock carried the puck into the offensive zone and whipped it over the net. That set up a three-on-two break for the Lions. Sapienza carried the puck into the zone, faked a pass, then ripped a shot from just inside the top of the right circle that found that back of the cage at 1:08. Andrew Deciantis received the assist on the play that gave Lindenwood a 1-0 lead.

The Lions continued to methodically apply offensive pressure, but the Rock were up to the task with a four-player zone defense that clogged up the middle. The first period ended with Lindenwood leading by just a goal.

The Lions broke through for their second tally in the opening minutes of the middle frame. As Lindenwood was set up in the Slippery Rock zone, a wayward pass went the length of the floor back to goalie Connor Hof. He sent a stretch pass to Deciantis who skated through an opening in the defense down the right side and launched a backhand shot short-side high at the 3:18 mark of the second. Hof was credited with the assist and the Lions led 2-0.

Both teams traded penalties midway through the period, but the power plays were killed off. As the clock ticked below 90-seconds, Lindenwood rushed into the left side of the offensive zone. Brett Lloyd zipped a pass through the slot to a wide-open Dillon Bilek. He caught SRU goalie Chris Bobuk leaning to his left and fired a shot back to his right for the goal at 10:47. Lloyd earned the primary assist and Nicolas Kruk earned the secondary to increase the Lions advantage to 3-0.

Lindenwood put the game away in the first half of the third. After the Rock had a great scoring chance, the Lions took possession and set up in the zone. Several passes later, a perfect feed through the seem from left to right set up Deciantis for a great shot to sound the horn at 4:03. Sapienza and Leonardo Dantas were credited with the assists for a 4-0 Lindenwood lead.

Seconds later, Deciantis received another stretch pass into the right side of the zone. As his defender fell, he pushed towards the crease from right to left, lured the goaltender to the floor and tucked a shot behind him to complete a hat trick at 4:29. Assists went to Andrew Zack and Colin Markotay and it was suddenly 5-0.

Slippery Rock broke the shutout at the 7:10 mark, but Dantas set up Deciantis for his fourth goal of the game at 8:16 to make it 6-1. After running the final minutes off the clock, the Lions celebrated their title.

Lindenwood outshot the Rock 26-10 and Hof stopped nine of 10 shots to earn the championship win in goal. Andrew Deciantis earned First Star honors with four goals and an assist, Shaun Sapienza was named the Second Star with a goal and assist, and Leonardo Dantas received Third Star recognition with two assists.

Head Coach Jon Hilke reflected on his team and the journey to another national title.

"It's no accident that we put ourselves in a position to make this a possibility each and every year. The players put in so much work on a day-to-day basis," he stated. "I'm proud of what this program has accomplished on the rink but I'm more proud of who these players become when they are here and after they graduate."

Earlier Sunday morning, the Lions overwhelmed Michigan State 9-0 in the semifinals. Lindenwood jumped in front with three power play goals in a row. Two came off the blade of Sapienza with Trevor West assisting on the first at 4:51. Sapienza scored unassisted at 9:20 before setting up Dillon Bilek at 10:15.   

That was the beginning of a five-goal flurry in less than two minutes. Nicholaus Meyer set up James Miller for an even-strength effort at 10:26, then Lucas Hurst split the pipes on a play set up by James Mueller and Dantas at 11:03. After Brett Lloyd scored unassisted at 11:28, Meyer hit the back of the cage off a feed from Lloyd at 11:48 and the Lions led 7-0 at the end of the first.

The barrage continued into the opening moments of the second with Deciantis lighting the lamp just 25-seconds into the period, assisted by Matthew Sherman. Now leading 8-0, Lindenwood backed off the throttle a bit and focused on puck control. Deciantis and West set up Lloyd for the only score the rest of the game at 9:15 in the third for a the final nine-goal margin.

The Lions outshot the Spartans 26-8 and Hof stopped all eight shots he faced to earn the shutout victory. Shaun Sapienza earned First Star honors with two goals and an assist, Brett Lloyd was named the Second Star with two goals and an assist, and Andrew Deciantis received Third Star recognition with a goal and assist.

With the semifinal and final wins on Sunday, Lindenwood completed another dominant performance at the NCRHA Division AA National Championship, going undefeated at 6-0, outscoring opponents 51-6. The Lions have now won 18 of the 20 NCRHA Division AA titles in the history of the event.

The roller hockey Gold squad completed its season with a perfect 18-0 record overall while going 9-0 in Midwest Collegiate Roller Hockey League action.