Lindenwood prevailed 5-2 over Robert Morris (Ill.) Friday night in a Central States Collegiate Hockey League (CSCHL) game at the Edge Ice Arena in Bensenville, Illinois. After a strong period of possession in the first 20 minutes for the Lions, the contest evolved into a physical battle with a busy penalty box, mainly for the Eagles.
Braden Shea gave Lindenwood a lead midway through the first on a play set up by
Jordan Klimovsky and
Colton Craigo at 9:42. That lead doubled with 1:18 left in the period when back-to-back touch passes on the right side from
Zach Martin and
Tommy Heinzman left
Ryan Finnegan open in front of the goal. A quick wrister made sure the puck found the back of the net.
Robert Morris started the second with renewed energy and more quickness. That resulted in a quick score for the Eagles just over a minute into the period to get them back into the game. The Lions countered when
Kyler Newman fed the puck to
Vegard Faret who turned behind the net from left to right for a wrap-around goal at 8:23, but Robert Morris pulled within a single tally again just 40 seconds later. The Eagles stole the puck near the blue line and raced in for a two-on-one chance to make it 3-2 Lindenwood. A busy period of scoring continued a couple of minutes later when Klimovsky pealed around the back of the goal and put a nifty pass right on the blade of
Alex Kalau for a back-door tap-in at 11:00.
After some fireworks in the final seconds of the second that resulted in a game misconduct penalty and the end of the night for a Robert Morris player, a second game misconduct was called early in the third after the Eagles crashed into Lindenwood goaltender
Stephen Friedland. That gave the Lions a five-minute major power play, which they used to send several shots on goal, but with no luck, until the waning seconds of the penalty when Kalau and Heinzman found Finnegan in open space on the right wing. He ripped a shot that was initially blocked, but it came right back to him. His quick hands and reflexes put the puck in the net within a split second at 6:23 for a 5-2 Lindenwood lead. The remainder of the game was filled with physical play and several more penalties, but no more goals.
The Lions outshot the Eagles 47-19 and Friedland stopped 17 of the 19 shot he faced to earn the victory. With the win, Lindenwood improved to 14-5-0 overall and 8-1-0 in the CSCHL.
The two teams return to the ice for the second game of the series at 7 p.m. Saturday night at the Edge Ice Arena.
