Roller hockey split four games in Great Plains Collegiate Inline Hockey League (GPCIHL) action November 16-17 at the Bethel Arena in Huntingdon, Tennessee. The Lions took two from Michigan State, but lost a pair of contests to the host Wildcats.
In the opening game of the weekend, Lindenwood was upended by Bethel 7-3 Saturday afternoon. Things started well for the Lions with back-to-back goals from
Cody Page in the first 35 seconds of the opening period, the first assisted by
Eric Kurpiewski, but Bethel controlled the remainder of the frame with five unanswered to take a 5-2 advantage. The Wildcats added two more tallies in the second before Page completed his hat trick early in the third with help from
Tyler Watson.
Bethel outshot Lindenwood 44-43 as
Jacob Robinson stopped 12 of the 17 pucks he faced in one period of play and
Paul Town made 24 saves on 27 shots in two periods. Page did earn Star #3 honors for his three-goal night.
The Lions rebounded for a 5-3 victory over Michigan State later that evening, but they had to come from behind to do it. After a Spartans goal late in the first period,
Nick DellaMorte answered for Lindenwood at 10:16 off a pass from
Joey Rosa. Michigan State scored twice in the second to take a 3-1 lead which set up the rally for the Lions in the third. DellaMorte hit the back of the net twice, the first coming early in the period with help from Page and the second with just 44 seconds on the clock assisted by
Nick Berger.
Brycon Johnson lit the lamp on the power play off a feed from
Steve Farina at 8:35, and Page scored what proved to be the game winner unassisted at 10:29.
The Lions outshot the Spartans 40-34 and Robinson made 31 saves on 34 shots to earn the victory in goal. DellaMorte earned Star #1 honors with a hat trick,
Joe Fordyce was named Star #2 for his efforts, and Town earned Star #3 recognition.
The rematch against the Wildcats Sunday morning proved much closer, but Lindenwood again came up short 3-2. Most of the scoring came in the first period, beginning with a Bethel shot in the opening 27 seconds. The Lions countered with goals from Farina at 5:24 and DellaMorte at 10:27, but the Wildcats tied things at two just nine seconds later. The winning goal for the Wildcats came with 4:44 remaining in the second to give them a 3-2 lead. While each team continued to pepper the opposing goaltender with shots the rest of the way, neither could break through and that is how the contest ended.
Lindenwood outshot Bethel 34-31 and Robinson stopped 28 of the 31 pucks he faced in the hard-luck loss.
After the tough defeat, the Lions overwhelmed the Spartans in that rematch later in the morning by a final score of 8-1. Lindenwood posted six straight goals in the opening frame to take control of the contest. Johnson and Watson accounted for single tallies while Farina and Rosa each scored twice. Michigan State broke the shutout early in the second, but Berger erased any possible doubts about the outcome with back-to-back goals at 4:49 and 7:27.
The Lions outshot the Spartans 33-31 and Town stopped all but one of the 31 shots he faced to earn Star #1 honors. Farina received Star #3 recognition with two goals.
Lindenwood now stands at 4-2 overall and in GPCIHL play. The Lions return to action for the Eastern Collegiate Roller Hockey Association Inter-Regional January 18-19 at Hot Shots in Mt. Pleasant, Pennsylvania.
