Complete game notes in PDF format
This Week:
Lindenwood heads back to Michigan for a pair of CSCHL games against Eastern Michigan.
Scouting the Lions:
Lindenwood completed the season sweep over Central Oklahoma last weekend and pushed their record to 16-0-0, which is a team record for consecutive wins to start a season…. Lindenwood is averaging 6.2 goals per game offensively, while only surrendering 1.8 goals per game…. Junior Steve Balint has taken over the team lead in points with 24. He has 8 goals and 16 assists on the season…. Fellow junior Jake Ebner has been on a tear lately scoring goals in his last four games and raising his season total to 13, which is tops on the team…. Sophomore Colin Long continues to lead the team with his 21 assists…. Ebner leads the team with his 7 power play goals…. A pair of freshmen, Grant Gorczyca and Alex Roth are tied for the team lead in short handed goals with 2 apiece…. The sophomore trio of Neeco Belanger, Chad Boeckman and Adam Krefski lead the team with 2 game winning goals…. Long leads the team with a +/- rating of +23…. Junior Robi Cavallari continues to lead all goaltenders with his 9 wins, a 1.47 GAA, .949 SV% and 1 shutout…. The Lions have converted on 33 of 94 (35.1%) of power play chances and have killed off 79 of 89 (88.8%) of power play chances against this season…. Lindenwood centers have won 581 of 966 (62.1%) of face-offs this season.
Scouting the Eagles:
SO Chris DeRoche leads the way in scoring with 15 points on 7 goals and 8 assists…. FR Thomas Luxik leads the team with his 9 goals…. JR goaltender Rob Cupit is 3-2-0 with a 4.95 GAA and a .880 SV%.
Lindenwood and Eastern Michigan Series:
Lindenwood leads the all-time series 10-1-0 over Eastern Michigan.
Last Time vs. Eastern Michigan:
Lindenwood won the last meeting 7-5 when the two teams met last November. Jake Ebner and Neeco Belanger each netted two goals. Robi Cavallari stopped 24 of 29 shots in the win.
British Columbia Connection:
The Lions have six players from the province of British Columbia in Canada. Chris Abbott, Carson Hamill, Jake Ebner, Russell LaForest, Robi Cavallari, and Kurtis Astle all hail from the BC area.
Homegrown Talent:
Lindenwood is proud to have 9 players from the local St. Louis area. The list includes: Alex Roth, Lucas Scherer, Cory Spradling, Tim Gardner, Ian Coppersmith, Steve Kowalczyk, Zach Glazer, Grant Gorczyca, and Chad Boeckman.
Lindenwood in National Rankings:
Lindenwood is again ranked #1 overall in the country for the 2nd ranking period. The Lions received 43 of 44 first place votes.
Special Teams:
Lindenwood are 33 of 94 on the power play which is a 35.1% success rate. The penalty killing unit killed of 79 of 89 power play chances against. They killed off 88.8% of power play chances against.
ACHA First:
Last season marked the first time that the same school produced the men’s and women’s DI national champions. The men’s program won their first national title, while the women’s team racked up their third title and became the first team ever to win back to back in the women’s division.
Re-United:
Transfer Kurtis Astle is back together playing with former junior hockey teammates Robi Cavallari and Jake Ebner. The trio played for the Melfort Mustangs in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League.
100 Games:
Last Saturday, Junior forward Cory Spradling played in his 100th game for the Lions.
Team Wins:
The Lions have won their last 21 games which is a new team record. Their current 16 game winning streak to open the 2009-10 season is a new team record for wins to start a season breaking the previous record of 14 set in the Lions inaugural season in 2003-04.
All-Time Assists:
Junior Steve Balint moved into a 2nd place tie with former Lion Travis Bokina for the all-time assist leaders. Balint has 106 career assists and is 38 assists behind all-time leader Henri St. Arnault.
All-Time Points:
Junior Cory Spradling moved into 10th place in the all-time points list. He sits 3 points behind former Lions Steve Schue and Dave Easterbrook, who each finished their careers with 131 points.
St. Louis Jr. Blues Alumni:
Bret Morrell, Ryan Divito, Tim Gardner, Grant Gorczyca and Cory Spradling all are alumni of the Tier3 Junior A powerhouse.
St. Louis Bandits Alumni:
Mike Leone, Ryan Divito, Tyler Bowman, and Grant Gorczyca all are alumni of the back to back to back NAHL champions.
Absent “A”:
Junior Cory Spradling is wearing the alternate captains “A” while Carson Hamill is out of the line-up.
Lindenwood Milestones:
Team is 8 wins away from 200…. Kyle Bailey is 21 goals away from 50 and 19 points away from 100…. Steve Balint is 6 games away from 100 played…. Chad Boeckman is 8 goals away from 50 and 7 points away from 100…. Robi Cavallari is 8 wins away from 50…. Jake Ebner is 2 games away from 100 games played, 15 goals away from 100, and 18 assists away from 100…. Carson Hamill is 14 games away from 100 games played and 24 assists away from 100.
Blogging:
Lindenwood junior Steve Balint is a featured blogger on the college hockey info website. His blog can be read at www.collegehockey.info.
Number Change:
Sophomore Ian Coppersmith has changed from #4 to #28.
New Faces:
The Lions will have 9 new faces around this season. Junior Kurtis Astle transfers to LU from Merrimack College (NCAA DI), Mike Leone transfers in from Adrian College (NCAA DIII), and Mike Sturdevant comes via Western Michigan (ACHA). Freshmen Grant Gorczyca played last with the St. Louis Bandits, Tyler Bowman played with the Texas Tornado, Zach Glazer via Chesterfield Midget Major and both Alex Roth and Steve Kowalczyk from St. Louis AAA.
Twitter:
Follow the Lion’s ice hockey team on Twitter all season at http://twitter.com/LULionsHockey. We will have live updates during games.
St. Louis Hockey on the Radio:
Lindenwood assistant coach Rick Zombo hosts a weekly radio show on Team 1380 ESPN Radio on the AM dial or on the web at www.team1380.net. The show highlights the local hockey scene and can be heard every Tuesday night at 6 pm.
Oh Captain, My Captain:
Sophomore defenseman Colin Long has been named captain of the 2009-10 Lions. Senior defenseman Tim Gardner and Junior forward Carson Hamill will serve as alternate captains. Junior forward Cory Spradling is serving as an alternate captain for the injured Carson Hamill.
Injury Update:
Sophomore Mike Leone had surgery on his broken wrist last Thursday and is targeting early February to be back on the ice…. Junior Carson Hamill will be shut down for the semester and might opt for surgery during the winter break…. Freshman Tyler Bowman continues to be out of the line up with a knee injury.
Up Next:
The Lions will welcome new CSCHL member Indiana University to town for a pair of games. The two teams face-off at 7 pm on Friday night and 4 pm on Saturday. Last week, Indiana University was voted into the CSCHL for the 2010-11 season.