MARYLAND HEIGHTS, Mo. – The Lindenwood men's hockey team (15-14-0) pulled out a dramatic 5-4 win over Long Island (12-18-2) in their opening game of the United Collegiate Hockey Cup on Thursday night. Anselmo Rego scored the game-winner on a breakaway with 8.8 seconds left on the clock to punch LU's ticket to the UCHC Championship Game.

Rego finished the game tied for the team lead in points with 1-1-2, matched only by Jake Southgate with 0-2-2. The Lions were outshot 48-41 in the contest but created a 37-31 advantage in draws.

Liam Beerman finished the night with 44 saves, which is the second highest single-game total for the freshman goaltender this season.

Neither team scored on special teams, with LIU going 0-2 on the power play and Lindenwood going 0-1.

Game Overview
Lindenwood opened the scoring early on a Jaeden Mercier goal a minute and a half into the game as the forward was able to follow up his own shot near the crease and sweep the puck into the back of the net for a score.

However, the Sharks settled in and outscored the Lions 2-0 through the remainder of the first period with Luca Leighton tying the game with a shot from above the faceoff circle at the 6:15 before Daniel Baldasarra put the Sharks in front at the 14:28 mark.

It did not take long for Lindenwood to find a response out of the intermission, with Olivier Houde equalizing at the 2:21 mark with a tip in goal assisted by Charles Savoie and Giovanni Morneau.

Lindenwood would regain the lead less than four minutes later with Jake Delaney charging into the slot form the blue line and powering a shot past the LIU keeper and between the pipes for the go-ahead goal. Anselmo Rego and Jake Southgate assisted on the play.

The Lions would make it three unanswered with just under two minutes remaining in the period with a Jacob Fletcher goal from the circle, but LIU was able to cut the deficit in half heading into the second intermission with a score by Dylan Kinch at the 19:24 mark.

The Sharks would capitalize on their newfound momentum at the 6:54 mark of the third period with a J.R. Perion goal to tie the game once again.

The contest entered into a gridlock for the next 13 minutes, and overtime looked inevitable as the game's final seconds began to tick away. However, with a little over 10 ticks remaining, Ethan Elias cut off a cross-ice pass in the neutral zone and connected with a free skating Anselmo Rego behind the LU defense to set up a one-on-one opportunity.

Rego would deliver for the win, showing a great deal of composure to beat the LIU goaltender with a close range shot across his face to send Lindenwood to the first ever United Collegiate Hockey Cup Championship Game.

Next Up
The Lions will rest up on Friday before facing the winner of Alaska and Stonehill, who will play on Friday afternoon at 3:00 p.m. The UCHC Championship is set for Saturday night at 7:00 p.m.