On Saturday at Midwest Sports Hockey in Ballwin, Missouri, roller hockey defeated Bethel (Tenn.) University in two consecutive games, 9-3, 6-1, for the second straight year in the Midwest Collegiate Roller Hockey League (MCRHL). ) won the championship.
In a best-of-three game, the Lions jumped into the lead with a single. bryce pierce Goal and assist at 4:25 in the first half bennett blake. Lindenwood was called for a cross check a few minutes later, resulting in a power play goal for the Wildcats at 9:42, tying the game at 1-1.
The Lions began to take control in the second inning.Brake setup parker winkelman They had a 2-1 advantage at 1:54. Bethel was called for a roughing at 8:01 and took 90 seconds. conor bradley utilize a feed from jackson wozniak.
Lindenwood led 3-1 after the second and scored three more points in the third to pull away. clayton liefeld made a shot with the help of Jack Wedoski At 2:20 Pearce and Wedosky honked their horns on their own at 6:49 and 9:12.
The Wildcats had an 11-7 shooting advantage early on, but the Lions ultimately won 39-22. chase christopher He achieved a goal victory with 21 saves out of 22 shots. Pierce was named the No. 1 Star for his two goals, Christopher was named the No. 2 Star for his save percentage of .955, and Wedoski was named the No. 3 Star for his goal and assist.
Although Lindenwood ultimately won with six goals, the series opener remained close until the opening moments of Game 2. Nathan Durance setting landon cooker The Lions scored the first goal at the 3:32 mark of the first inning, and the subsequent pass led to jackson wozniak Wedoski made it 2-0 at 5:37. Bethel cut the deficit in half with just over five minutes remaining and had a chance to tie the game on the power play, but Wozniak controlled the puck and fed Liefeld for a shorthanded goal at 10:13.
The Wildcats scored early in the second game to make it 3-2, but Lindenwood fought back with the next six goals unanswered. Liefeld scored his second goal of the game at 3:48 on an assist from Pierce, and Wozniak scored Wodoski at 8:13. After trying hard without anyone's help, conor bradley At 9:20, he executed a nifty pass on the break and scored at 11:44 for a 7-2 Lions advantage.
Lindenwood continued its dominance in the third game. Wozniak split the pipe at 1:36 on a play set up by Winkelmann and Dylan Sullivan, and Wedoski completed his hat trick with an assist from Wozniak at 9:50. Bethel scored an unassisted goal off a steal with just seconds left in the final scramble.
The Lions outscored the Wildcats 41-21. marquee hager He stopped 18 of 21 shots and scored the victory. Wozniak was named Star No. 1 with one goal and four assists, Wedoski was named Star No. 2 with a hat trick, and Liefeld was named Star No. 3 with two goals.
Roller Hockey extended its conference championship winning streak to three by winning the MCRHL title after winning the 2023 MCRHL and 2022 Great Plains Collegiate Inline Hockey League (GPCIHL) championships.
The Lions finished MCRHL play with a 10-0 record and currently sit at 16-0 overall in college competition. They are currently awaiting the announcement of their national championship berth from the National Collegiate Roller Hockey Association (NCRHA), scheduled for March 4th.
The 2024 Division I National Collegiate Roller Hockey Championship is scheduled to be held April 17-20 at the Norwegian Savings Bank Arena in Auburn, Maine.
