A historic night of firsts ended with a 6-3 victory for the women's American Collegiate Hockey League (ACHA) D1 squad over Maryville Saturday night at the Centene Community Ice Center in Maryland Heights, Missouri.

After six seasons wearing Lynx jerseys, the former Lindenwood – Belleville team played its first game as Lindenwood Lions.  Meanwhile, the Saints played their first contest in the inaugural season for the Maryville women's ACHA D1 program.

The Lions started the game quickly with two goals early in the first period, the first coming off the stick of sophomore Kennedy Frank and the second from senior captain Lindsay Gillis.  They tacked on a third tally from Frank to take a 3-0 advantage, outshooting the Saints 18-4 in the opening frame, but the young Maryville squad, one that includes just one upperclassman, broke the shutout in the second when freshman Emma Gerwitz scored the first ever goal for the Saints off the crossbar to make it 3-1 Lindenwood.  

The Lions pushed the lead back to three mid-way through the period on a backhanded effort from Marissa Delry, but Maryville answered just over two minutes later when an initial shot was blocked, resulting in a loose puck in front.  The Saints found it first and put it in the back of the net at the 12:14 mark to make it 4-2.  The two teams traded goals one more time in a span of 29-seconds with Lindenwood scoring first on a Dakota McAlpine shot up and over the netminder's shoulder at 14:48 for a 5-2 lead.  The Saints countered with a breakaway with 4:43 left in the second.    

The first two periods were characterized by offense and scoring chances, with the Lions outshooting Maryville 31-11, but defense took over in the final period.  The only score came on a Lindenwood empty-netter late in the third to give the Lions their final margin of victory.

Lindenwood hosts the Saints in the second game of the series Sunday evening.  The puck drops at 6:10 p.m. at the Centene Community Ice Center in Maryland Heights, Missouri.  Fans can follow the action via live stream at the GLVC Sports Network website.