The roller hockey Gold squad lost to Grand Canyon University in pool play but outlasted the Lopes in the National Collegiate Roller Hockey Association (NCRHA) AA Division Championship 3-2 in overtime to claim the fifth national title in a row and 19^th in program history April 19 at Brightspeed Ice Park in Springfield, Missouri.

In a defensive contest that went back-and-forth, it was GCU that took an early lead on a power play at 1:44 of the first after the Lions were called for hooking just 57-seconds into the game. Lindenwood found an equalizer late in the period after a Grand Canyon penalty. Connor White tallied the power play goal off a feed from Matt Sherman at 11:37. The Lions held a slight 8-7 edge in shots on goal, but it was tied 1-1 after the opening frame.

Lindenwood took a 2-1 lead midway through the second when Drew Royer sounded the horn at 5:25, assisted by Nolan Lawrenz. That proved to be the only scoring in the middle frame as the Lions outshot the Lopes 10-9.

Lindenwood was called for tripping early in the third and that led to a game-tying goal from Grand Canyon at 2:50. The Lopes had a chance to take a lead on another power play after a slashing penalty two minutes later, but the Lions were able to kill it off. The rest of the period was highlighted by intense defense from both sides, limiting shots on goal and scoring chances in general. When the period ended, it was still knotted 2-2, sending the game into overtime.

After a very well-played 36 minutes of regulation roller hockey from both sides, things turned in favor of Lindenwood on a substitution mistake from Grand Canyon, resulting in a too many men penalty on the Lopes just 56-seconds into the extra time. It took most of the power play time, but the Lions finally capitalized when Connor White hit the back of the cage for the game and championship winner off a pass from Shaun Sapienza at 2:34.

For his heroics, Connor White was named Star No. 1 with two goals. Connor Hof earned Star No. 2 honors with 21 saves on 23 shots for a .913 save percentage. Lindenwood outshot Grand Canyon 26-23, including a 5-1 margin in overtime.

The Lions earned their spot in the title game with a 10-1 victory over Arizona AA in the semifinals earlier in the day. Lindenwood scored four goals in the first, three in the second, and three in the third, allowing the only Wildcats score in the final seven seconds of regulation. Alex Hernandez began the offensive display at 1:09 of the first on a play set up by Matt Sherman and Shaun Sapienza. Connor White struck next on the power play with help from Trevor West and Sherman at 5:15. West earned the only assist on a Hunter Mueller goal at 7:06 and White set up Lucas Hurst at 9:22.

An Arizona penalty early in the second led to a power play goal from White at 3:55, assisted by West. West and White combined to set up Logan Daffron for an even strength tally at 5:07, then Hurst scored just 16-seconds later off a pass from Nolan Lawrenz and it was 7-0 at the second intermission.

The final period proved to be the Lawrenz show as he compiled a hat trick over the course of about six minutes of game time. Sherman earned the helper on the first two scores at 5:13 and 6:00, but Lawrenz handled things himself unassisted at 11:15 to give the Lions a 10-0 lead. Arizona averted the shutout at the 11:53 mark.

Lindenwood outshot the Wildcats 52-7 and Branden Bedley stopped six of the seven shots he faced to earn the victory in goal for the Lions. Nolan Lawrenz earned Star No. 1 honors with three goals and an assist, Connor White was named Star No. 2 with two goals and two assists, and Trevor West received Star No. 3 recognition with four assists.

Lindenwood earned a spot in the semifinals by posting a 3-1 record in pool play April 17-18. With two games each day, the Lions started with an 11-1 win over Arizona on Friday. Shaun Sapienza earned Star No. 1 honors with a hat trick, Connor White was named Star No. 2 with a goal and two assists, and Trevor West received Star No. 3 recognition with a goal and assist. Nicolas Kruk, Matt Sherman, Logan Daffron, Nick Wolfmeier, Hunter Mueller, and Brayden Uglow also scored. The Lions outshot the Wildcats 34-10 and Niko Scott stopped nine of the 10 shots he faced.

Later on Friday, Lindenwood played another solid game in a 10-0 shutout of Boston University. After three goals in the first, the Lions added five more in the second and two in the third. Drew Royer earned Star No. 1 honors with three goals and two assists, Connor White received Star No. 2 recognition with three goals, and Logan Daffron was named Star No. 3 with a goal and two assists. Kruk, Sherman, and Hernandez also scored for Lindenwood. The Lions outshot the Terriers 44-4 and Branden Bedley stopped all four shots he faced.

Lindenwood returned to the rink for games three and four of pool play on Saturday and quickly overwhelmed Arizona State AA 11-1. The Lions scored three times in the first, including a short-handed goal, and five times in the second to build an 8-0 advantage. After yielding a power play goal to the Sun Devils early in the third, Lindenwood answered with three more. Shaun Sapienza earned Star No. 1 honors with a goal and three assists, Brayden Uglow was named Star No. 2 with a pair of goals and an assist, and Logan Daffron received Star No. 3 recognition with a goal and two assists. Other scores came from Dominic Roberts, Nick Kruk, Trevor West, Nick Wolfmeier, Leonardo Dantas, Lucas Hurst, and Hunter Mueller. The Lions outshot Arizona State 35-7 and Branden Bedley stopped six of seven.

The final game of pool play resulted in the only loss of the weekend for Lindenwood, 5-1 against Grand Canyon University AA. In a preview of what would be the title game match-up, the Lopes took an early lead on the power play after a Lions slashing penalty. The goal at 3:43 was the only of the opening frame and gave GCU a 1-0 advantage at the first intermission.

Grand Canyon added two more late in the second, both at even strength at 8:41 and 10:30 and carried a 3-0 lead into the final period. The Lopes added two more to build a 5-0 advantage. After an even strength tally at 2:19, a Lindenwood cross checking penalty led to the second GCU goal at 4:52. The Lions broke the shutout with 2:56 remaining in regulation when Dominic Roberts set up Matt Sherman.

Lindenwood had a slight edge in shots on goal 33-32 with Connor Hof making 27 saves on the 32 shots he faced. The Lions ultimately split two games with the Lopes, but won the most important one.

The roller hockey Gold squad finished the 2025-26 season with an 18-2 record overall and a 10-1 mark in the Midwest Collegiate Roller Hockey League.