The Lions offense erupted with a scoring barrage to post an 8-0 shutout over Illinois Saturday night at the Centene Community Ice Center in Maryland Heights, Missouri.
In a balanced attack, eight different players scored for Lindenwood in the contest beginning with
Vegard Faret on a play set up by
Billy Denis and
Austin Wilk at 4:32 of the first period. Less than two minutes later, the Lions added a second goal off the blade of
Hayden Dawes assisted by
Aapo Nurminen at 6:15.
Holding a 2-0 lead after the first 20 minutes, Lindenwood piled on with three more tallies in the second, beginning with a
Tommy Heinzman blast from Dawes and
Matt Runyon at 8:22. Nurminen hit the back of the net with 1:24 remaining with help from Wilk and Faret, and then the Lions capitalized on a power play with 31 seconds left when Heinzman and Nurminen set up
Brendan Murphy.
As the final period unfolded, Lindenwood added another three goals, beginning with a
Colton Craigo shot that split the pipes at 4:47, assisted by
Braden Shea and Murphy. Midway through the third,
Zach Mitchell tickled the twine on a pass from Nurminen at 11:55. The final score of the game came from
Alex Kalau with help from
Nick Greene and
Hayden Ursulak with 2:28 remaining in regulation.
Despite the shutout effort, the Illini had several chances with the man-advantage, but the Lions held them scoreless on six opportunities while scoring a goal on two power play chances. Lindenwood outshot Illinois 34-21 and
Cooper Seedott delivered another stellar performance with 21 saves in goal for the win. Playing in his 100
th game for the Lions, senior
Aapo Nurminen earned four points on a goal and three assists.
With the win, Lindenwood improved to 6-2-0 overall and to 4-0-0 in the Central States Collegiate Hockey League. After a weekend off, the Lions return to conference play by hosting Robert Morris University (Ill.) November 1-2. The puck drops at 7:15 p.m. Friday night and at 1 p.m. Saturday afternoon at the Centene Community Ice Center in Maryland Heights, Missouri.
