ST. CHARLES, Mo. – The Lindenwood men's hockey team (3-2-0) sent shockwaves across the college hockey landscape on Friday night with a 4-3 upset victory over No. 5 Denver (1-1-1, 0-0-0 NCHC) at Centene Community Ice Center. The Lions scored a pair of third period goals to secure the momentous win.

Game Overview
The black and gold played with intensity from the start, creating dangerous chances throughout the first period with eleven shots on goal compared to nine for the Pioneers. The Lions also created a significant advantage in draws, winning 16 of 20 faceoffs in the frame. However, Lindenwood was unable to find the back of the net and the game remained scoreless entering the first intermission.

Fortunes changed nearly eight minutes into the second period when Olivier Houde snuck the puck under the Denver goalie's left leg pad following a great centering pass from Giovanni Morneau to give LU their first lead of the contest. Ethan Zielke was also credited with an assist on the score.

Denver stormed to the lead in the period's 12th minute with a pair of goals within 44 second of each other, as Sam Harris converted on a power play before Hagen Burrows found the back of the net to put the Pioneers up 2-1.

The Lions were undaunted though, and it only took them a little over a minute to even things back up on a Ty Hipkin goal. Hipkin was able to gain control of a pass off the glass from deep in the defensive zone by Brady Yakesh, eluding a pair of Denver defenders on his way to the Pio goalkeeper's front door before burying the puck in the top right corner of the net.

The game would remain tied for the next 24:20 of game action before Jacob Fletcher put an end to the stalemate in highlight reel fashion. After a lengthy defensive stand in the Lindenwood zone, Fletcher was able to steal the puck away from the Pioneers and quickly advance up the ice. With just one man to beat, the freshman forward turned around the Denver defenseman with some nifty stick work before powering the puck past the Pio keeper for the go-ahead score.

With time running out to find an equalizer, Denver emptied their net to gain a man advantage with a little over a minute and a half remaining. However, the risk did not pay off, as Adam Raesler took advantage of the unmanned net to score from behind the Lions' own blue line to make the score 4-2.

The Pioneers were able to get one back on another Burrows goal with 54 seconds remaining, but it was too little too late as Lindenwood came away with the 4-3 win.

Game Notes

• Friday night's victory was Lindenwood's second all-time win over a ranked opponent and their first at home. Denver is the highest ranked opponent the Lions have ever defeated.
• The Lions have won three consecutive games in come-from-behind fashion. Their three-game win streak is the program's longest of the Division-I era.
• LU has scored at least four goals in three consecutive games (non-exhibition) for the first time since the 2023-24 season.
• Lindenwood committed just one penalty on Friday, which is their fewest in a game since November 23rd, 2024 against Stonehill.
• Olivier Houde's first period score was the first goal of his NCAA career.
• Giovanni Morneau has posted at least one point in four consecutive outings and is now tied for the team with seven (4g-3a).

Quotable
"I'm just proud of the guys. They put a lot of work and effort into this, and we've been trying to get them to believe in what we're doing and to believe in each other, and that's what they're doing. I told them last weekend, 'You're a good team if you play together a believe in each other', and they're starting to do that and starting to see success from that." – Keith Fisher.

Next Up
The Lions and Pioneers are back at it on Saturday, with puck drop from Centene Community Ice Center scheduled for 7:10 p.m.