ORONO, Maine – The Lindenwood men's hockey team (8-7-0) dropped the first half of their two-game series at Maine (10-7-1, 6-5-0 HEA) by a score of 5-0 at Alfond Arena on Saturday evening.
Game Overview
A fast start by the Black Bears put Lindenwood behind early, with Maine striking first with a Charlie Russel goal just over four minutes in before doubling their lead on a power play conversion by Sully Scholle at the 6:40 mark. LU outdrew Maine 18-6 in the period but were outdone 19-9 in shots on goal and went 0-1 on the power play. However, the Lions were able to settle in defensively and keep the deficit at just a pair heading into the first intermission.
Lindenwood appeared to have scored a power play goal midway through the second period, but the score was waved off after the officials determined the puck had deflected into the net off a high stick. Maine would then extend the lead just before intermission two with their second power play goal of the evening, this time off the stick of Justin Poirier at the 18:55 mark.
The Black Bears added two more goals in the third period, with Poirier lighting the lamp for his second – and Maine's third overall – power play goal of the night before Lukas Peterson found the back of the net just 30 seconds later to make the score 5-0. Lindenwood was held scoreless through the game's remaining 14 minutes as they suffered their first shutout loss since October 18th.
The Lions took 77 total shots in the contest, but only 28 of those landed on target as Maine recorded 28 blocks. In contrast, 51 of the Black Bears' 86 total attempts were on goal, with
Liam Beerman posting a season-high 46 saves for a .902 save percentage.
Meanwhile, Lindenwood went 0-4 with the man advantage while Maine's power play unit went 3-6.
Quotable
"I thought Maine played great", said Lindenwood head coach
Keith Fisher, continuing "It was a good environment for our guys to experience. We have to match their compete level tomorrow."
Next Up
Lindenwood will have a new opportunity Sunday afternoon, with game two against the Black Bears set to get underway at 3:00 p.m. CT (4:00 ET).
