Men’s ACHA D2 Hockey Sweeps from Maryville

ACHA Division II men’s hockey swept a two-game series from Maryville on Saturday and Sunday at the Centene Community Ice Center in Maryland Heights, Missouri. The Lions beat the Saints 17-6 over the weekend and won the first game 7-4. Chase McClellan hat trick and took another in the final 10-2.

Both teams traded goals in the opening set on Saturday, with McClellan scoring with the puck at 10:31 from a pass Praveen Dhaliwal before Maryville tied it six minutes later on the power play. Lindenwood took the lead for good at the 3:45 mark of the second period Declan Carter and Jack Radley establish So Roofethen Stanley Lucas beat the Lions 3-1 at 7:30 with the help of a person Josh Lynn and Jack Radley. After the Saints pulled within one, McClellan scored his second goal of the contest, assisted by Radley and Linn, at 15:51.

The third period was full of penalty kicks and power play goals. McClellan completed his hat trick with the first of those at 12:25. RJ Hart and Nolan Bald earned the Helpers in a game that made the score 5-2 Lions. The Saints took the next two man advantage and once again pulled within a goal, but Lindenwood closed out the game with the final two. Lucas and Ryan Granville set up Linn for a power play goal with 3:17 left and Hart blew the horn at 18:40 assisted by Dhaliwal and Carter.

The Lions defeated Maryville 58-20 and Michael Errico stopped 16 of the 20 pucks he faced to win in goal. Lindenwood went 2-of-5 on the power play, while the Saints were 3-of-6 on man-advantage opportunities.

The Lions dominated Maryville on Sunday, outscoring the Saints 61-14 and scoring the first six unanswered in an eight-goal victory. Eight different Lindenwood players found the back of the net as the Lions scored four goals in the first period, two in the second and four more in the final frame, three of which came on the power play. The Saints’ two goals came back-to-back in the opening 97 seconds of the third.

Steve Avalone and Linn scored twice for Lindenwood with Behnen, Bradley Rupp, Granville, Kahn, Lucas and Hart add individual contributions. Granville also led the Lions with three assists, while Avalone, Radley, McMahon, Lucas, Stanley and Wagner each earned two assists. Behnen, McClellan, Bryce Legerand Linn each had one assist to help Lindenwood’s cause.

Ethan Paulin-Hatch earned the shutout win with 12 saves on 14 shots. The Lions went 3-of-5 on the power play, holding Maryville to four men.

With the two wins, Lindenwood improved to 19-4-0. The Lions will travel east for three games at the Miami University (Ohio) Showcase on the 20th-22nd. January. Lindenwood will face Sault College on Friday at 5:00 p.m., Florida Gulf Coast on Saturday at 3:50 p.m., and Liberty University on Sunday at 1:20 p.m. All games will be played at Goggin Ice Arena in Oxford, Ohio.