Lindenwood goalkeeper Klayton Knapp tries to keep the puck away from an Air Force player during Friday’s NCAA hockey game in Colorado Springs. (Photo: Thomas Grove)
| NCAA Hockey | 1 | 2 | 3 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lindenwood (3-3) | 2 | 2 | 3 | 7 |
| Air Force (2-2) | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 |
COLORADO SPRINGS, CO — The Lindenwood University men’s hockey team scored a school-record four power play goals in the first and second periods, then added three more scores in the third to earn a 7-4 victory over the Air Force Academy, Friday night.
Four different players scored on the man-advantage to help Lindenwood turn a 2-0 deficit into a 4-2 lead. Then after Air Force tied the game, the Lions scored three unanswered goals in the third to put the win away.
“That was a big team win tonight,” Lindenwood head coach Keith Fisher said. “The guys did the little things needed to win a hockey game like this. Big response after last night.”
Lindenwood’s Andrew LeBlanc scored two goals in the Lions’ win over Air Force on Friday. (Photo: Thomas Grove)
The victory helped Lindenwood earn a split in its two-game series at AFA. The Falcons won Game 1, 5-2, on Thursday.
Winning on Friday allowed Lindenwood to head back home with a series tie and an even overall record at 3-3.
Lindenwood was scoreless on the power play coming into the night, but Kim Elfving changed that just under 11 minutes into the opening frame with a wrist shot from the center of the left faceoff circle that touched twine for a conversion on the Lions’ first power play of the game.
Elfving’s score ignited a run of four unanswered goals from the Lions’ previously snake bitten special team unit, with Caden Brown scoring three minutes later.
Michael Bevilacqua lit the lamp for the first time this season 25 seconds into the second period, following an Air Force penalty called seven seconds before the first intermission.
At the 8:34 mark of the second period, Air Force’s Grant DeNuccio was called for a five-minute major with a game misconduct for contact to the head, which was taken advantage of by Noah Dziver, who scored from the slot for his second goal of the weekend and the Lions’ fourth power play goal of the game.
Lindenwood’s Michael Bevilacqua battles Air Force’s Denton Greer for the puck in the third period of Friday’s NCAA men’s hockey game in Colorado Springs. (Photo: Thomas Grove)
Air Force score twice in the last five minutes of the second period to tie the game at 4.
The Lions would regroup to score three unanswered goals in the third period, beginning with an Andy Earl score at the 6:01 mark, as the freshman powered a shot from the high slot past the Air Force goaltender to put Lindenwood back in front.
About six and a half minutes later, Andrew LeBlanc forced a turnover in the neutral zone and scored on a breakaway to make the score 6-4 before a blocked shot led to another breakaway opportunity for LeBlanc, who used a nice backhand finish to score his second goal of the period and extend the Lindenwood lead to three.
The Lions would protect their advantage for the final five minutes and change for their first road win of the season, snapping a three-game losing streak at AFA.
The Lindenwood Lions will be 3-3 heading into Week 4 of the new season. (Photo: Thomas Grove)
Lindenwood will be back home next weekend, with a two-game series against Nebraska-Omaha at the Centene Community Ice Center on Friday and Saturday. The puck will drop at 7 p.m. on both nights.
SCORING SUMMARY
| Logo | Period | Time | Scored By | Assisted By | LU | AF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 (PP) | 1st | 06:00 | Arneson, Brady | Sajevic, Nick, Kim, Christian | 0 | 1 |
| 1st | 07:30 | Arneson, Brady | Cunningham, Nolan, Gibbons, Brendan | 0 | 2 |
 (PP) | 1st | 10:52 | Elfving, Kim | Brown, Caden | 1 | 2 |
| (PP) | 1st | 13:53 | Brown, Caden | Raesler, Adam, Leblanc, Jake | 2 | 2 |
| (PP) | 2nd | 00:25 | Bevilacqua, Michael | Abraham, Ryan, Dziver, Noah | 3 | 2 |
| (PP) | 2nd | 09:20 | Dziver, Noah | Bevilacqua, Michael, Nash, Ty | 4 | 2 |
| 2nd | 15:14 | Gibbons, Brendan | Searles, Harper | 4 | 3 |
| 2nd | 17:34 | Gibbons, Brendan | Peterson, Jake, Dubois, Owen | 4 | 4 |
| 3rd | 06:01 | Earl, Andrew | Bevilacqua, Michael, Elfving, Kim | 5 | 4 |
| 3rd | 12:29 | LeBlanc, Andrew | Unassisted | 6 | 4 |
| 3rd | 14:42 | LeBlanc, Andrew | Unassisted | 7 | 4 |
| Logo | Period | Time | Scored By | Assisted By | ASU | LU |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 02:11 | Brady McIsaac (1) | Brody Mortensen | 0 | 1 |
| 1st | 03:25 | Chase LaPinta (1) | Ryan Abraham | 0 | 2 |
| 1st | 04:49 | Brady McIsaac (2) | Connor Gengle, Jacob Delaney | 0 | 3 |
 | 1st | 07:37 | Benjamin Kevan | Lincoln Kuehne | 1 | 3 |
| 1st | 10:33 | Daniel Shlaine | Unassisted | 2 | 3 |
| 1st | 15:41 | Nathan Behm | Jack Beck, Jonas Woo | 3 | 3 |
| 2nd | 06:18 | Kyle Smolen | Landon Hafele, Logan Morrell | 4 | 3 |
| 2nd | 14:12 | Jacob Leblanc (1) | Kian Bell, Brody Mortensen | 4 | 4 |
| 2nd | 17:20 | Adam Raesler (1) | Jacob Delaney, Christopher Thibodeau | 4 | 5 |
| 2nd | 19:25.0 | Anselmo Rego (1) | Jacob Leblanc | 4 | 6 |
| 2nd | 19:50.3 | Anselmo Rego (2) | Ethan Zielke | 4 | 7 |
| 3rd | 01:10 | Nathan Behm | Jack O’Brien, Jack Beck | 5 | 7 |
| 3rd | 04:57 | Jonas Woo | Landon Hafele, Logan Morrell | 6 | 7 |
| (EN) | 3rd | 19:27.8 | Caden Brown (1) | Michael Bevilacqua | 6 | 8 |
| (EN) | 3rd | 19:42.1 | Ty Nash (1) | Michael Bevilacqua, Ethan Elias | 6 | 9 |
2026-27 LINDENWOOD LIONS MEN’S HOCKEY SCHEDULE
| Date | Time | At | Opponent | Location | Results |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| October 2, 2026 (Friday) | 7:00 pm | Home | Arizona State | Centene Community Ice Center | L, 5-0 (0-1) |
| October 3, 2026 (Saturday) | 5:00 pm | Home | Arizona State | Centene Community Ice Center | W, 9-6 (1-1) |
| October 8, 2026 (Thursday) | 7:00 pm | Home | Lake Superior State | Centene Community Ice Center | W, 7-4 (2-1) |
| October 9, 2026 (Friday) | 7:00 pm | Home | Lake Superior State | Centene Community Ice Center | L, 4-3 (2-2) |
| October 15, 2026 (Thursday) | 8:05 pm | Away | Air Force | USAF Academy, CO | L, 5-2 (2-3) |
| October 16, 2026 (Friday) | 8:05 pm | Away | Air Force | USAF Academy, CO | W, 7-4 (3-3) |
| October 23, 2026 (Friday) | 7:00 pm | Home | Nebraska at Omaha | Centene Community Ice Center | |
| October 24, 2026 (Saturday) | 7:00 pm | Home | Nebraska at Omaha | Centene Community Ice Center | |
| November 6, 2026 (Friday) | 8:00 pm | Away | Colorado College | Colorado Springs, CO | |
| November 7, 2026 (Saturday) | 5:00 pm | Away | Colorado College | Colorado Springs, CO | |
| November 13, 2026 (Friday) | 8:00 pm | Away | #1 Denver | Denver, CO | |
| November 14, 2026 (Saturday) | 7:00 pm | Away | #1 Denver | Denver, CO | |
| November 20, 2026 (Friday) | 7:00 pm | Home | Long Island | Centene Community Ice Center | |
| November 21, 2026 (Saturday) | 5:00 pm | Home | Long Island | Centene Community Ice Center | |
| November 27, 2026 (Friday) | 7:07 pm | Away | #4 North Dakota | Grand Forks, ND | |
| November 28, 2026 (Saturday) | 6:07 pm | Away | #4 North Dakota | Grand Forks, ND | |
| December 11, 2026 (Friday) | 7:00 pm | Home | Maryville | Centene Community Ice Center | |
| December 29, 2026 (Tuesday) | 7:00 pm | Neutral | #3 Michigan State | Grand Rapids, MI | |
| December 30, 2026 (Wednesday) | TBA | Neutral | TBA | Grand Rapids, MI | |
| January 8, 2027 (Friday) | 7:00 pm | Home | Maryville | Centene Community Ice Center | |
| January 9, 2027 (Saturday) | 5:00 pm | Home | Maryville | Centene Community Ice Center | |
| January 15, 2027 (Friday) | 6:00 pm | Away | Stonehill College | North Easton, MA | |
| January 16, 2027 (Saturday) | 6:00 pm | Away | Stonehill College | North Easton, MA | |
| January 22, 2027 (Friday) | 7:00 pm | Home | Alaska-Fairbanks | Centene Community Ice Center | |
| January 23, 2027 (Saturday) | 5:00 pm | Home | Alaska-Fairbanks | Centene Community Ice Center | |
| January 29, 2027 (Friday) | 6:30 pm | Away | Long Island | Brooklyn, NY | |
| January 30, 2027 (Saturday) | 6:30 pm | Away | Long Island | Brooklyn, NY | |
| February 5, 2027 (Friday) | 7:00 pm | Home | Stonehill College | Centene Community Ice Center | |
| February 6, 2027 (Saturday) | 5:00 pm | Home | Stonehill College | Centene Community Ice Center | |
| February 12, 2027 (Friday) | 10:00 pm | Away | Alaska-Anchorage | Anchorage, AK | |
| February 13, 2027 (Saturday) | 9:00 pm | Away | Alaska-Anchorage | Anchorage, AK | |
| February 21, 2027 (Sunday) | 2:00 pm | Home | Maryville | Centene Community Ice Center | |
| March 4-6, 2027 (Thursday-Saturday) | TBA | Neutral | United Collegiate Hockey Cup | TBA |