Sixty minutes of hockey was not enough to settle things in the series finale as Oklahoma State outlasted men's ACHA DII ice hockey 7-6 in overtime Saturday night at the WeStreet Ice Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The Lions held a two-goal lead after the second period, but couldn't hold off a Cowboys comeback and game-winner in extra time.
OSU scored first in the contest just 70-seconds into the opening frame, but Lindenwood answered with the next three.
Alex Cameron notched his first of the season on a play set up by
Brett Robinson and
Gavin Delfosse at 14:18.
Nick Jones and
Nick Puricelli assisted on the next goal off the blade of
Brandon Catalano at 18:47 and the Lions led 2-1 at the first intermission.
The Cowboys had possession of the puck early in the second, but
Austin Meers grabbed a stray pass and scored unassisted at 4:55 to extend the margin. Oklahoma State stemmed the tide with a goal at 6:04 but Catalano quickly gave Lindenwood a two-goal lead again on his second of the game with help from
Zachary Schwartz and
Brock Hart at 6:32. After the flurry of scoring in a span of just 90-seconds, the rest of the period went without a goal and the Lions led 4-2 at the second break.
The Cowboys surged in the third, quickly erasing their deficit with goals at 3:24 and 5:54, but an OSU penalty moments later gave Lindenwood a power play and Puricelli cashed it in at 8:36. Delfosse and Gave Vijuk assisted on the play that gave the Lions a 5-4 advantage, but a Lindenwood roughing minor gave the favor right back and the Cowboys knotted the game at five at the 10:53 mark. They added an even-strength effort at 13:56 to take a 6-5 lead, but the Lion came from behind this time when Puricelli and Hart set up
Ethan Christofferson at 14:50. It remained a 6-6 tie for the remaining five minutes of regulation, but it was not without excitement. The Lions were called for hooking with just 65-seconds remaining which put OSU on the power play, but the Cowboys were called for a minor as well at 19:32 to even things up.
Both of those penalties carried into the overtime period, but neither team was able to put a shot on goal through the first three minutes. The first one was the game winner for Oklahoma State at 3:34, giving the Cowboys a series sweep.
Lindenwood outshot OSU 43-29 and
Cole Wheaton stopped 22 of the 29 shots he faced in an overtime losing effort. The Lions scored once on five power plays while yielding one goal on four man-advantage chances.
With the loss Lindenwood dropped to 5-1-1 on the season. After a trip to Oklahoma, the Lions will next travel to the Sunshine State to face Florida Gulf Coach October 9-10. The opening faceoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. CDT on Friday night and at 5:30 p.m. CDT on Saturday evening at the Hertz Arena in Fort Myers, Florida.
