The Lindenwood Lions and a bunch of their fans celebrate, after Ryan Finnegan scored what proved to be the game-winning goal, Friday night at the Centene Community Ice Center in Maryland Heights. (Photo courtesy: Lindenwood Athletics)

Team	1	2	3	F
Air Force	2	4	0	6
Lindenwood	2	2	3	7

Cedric Williams
Senior Editor

MARYLAND HEIGHTS, MO — Down four goals midway through the second period, Friday night at the Centene Community Ice Center, the Lindenwood University men’s hockey team did not back down and would not let up.

And that proved to be the key, as the Lions scored five unanswered goals, including three in the third period, to rally back and defeat visiting Air Force, 7-6, in Lindenwood’s first home game as an NCAA Division I team.

Grad student senior Ryan Finnegan scored the game-winner with just under two minutes left. It came on a rebound, following a narrow-miss shot attempt by teammate Drew Kuzma from just in front of the net.

Kuzma’s shot sailed just over the crossbar, hit the glass, and caromed toward Finnegan, who then quickly grabbed the puck and flipped it into the Air Force net before Falcon goalkeeper Aaron Randazzo could do anything about it.

That score sent the entire Lindenwood team, coaching staff, and the announced crowd of 2,065 LU fans into an absolutely frenzy. Air Force tried to mount a fierce comeback of its own in the final minutes, but Lindenwood held on for a thrilling victory in a matchup that had the crowd on the edge of its seat the entire night.

The third period was especially exciting. That was when the Lions were able to hold off Air Force’s attack and keep them scoreless, while also scoring the goals they needed to come back.

The rally actually began late in the second period, after Air Force had gone ahead 6-2, by scoring five straight goals of their own — four of which came in the first 10 minutes of the second period.

First, freshman Max Neill scored his first collegiate goal, on a play assisted by Adam Conquest and Caleb Price. Then, in the final minute of the period, Kyle Jeffers scored on a power play to pull the Lions to within 6-4, heading into the third.

That’s when the drama really began to build. Air Force had a number of scoring opportunities, but Lindenwood goalkeeper Trent Burnham held strong and kept the Falcons scoreless. That allowed the Lion offense to get going, which it did in thrilling fashion.

First, Hunter Johannes scored another highlight reel goal, on a shorthanded breakaway at the 12:54 mark to make it 6-5. Then, just over a minute later, David Gagnon scored his second goal of the night — both power play goals — to tie the game at 6.

That set the scene for Finnegan’s game-winner at the 18:22 mark that gave Lindenwood its first lead since midway through the first period.

Air Force pulled its goalie with about a minute to go, and had six men attacking the Lindenwood net for the final 60 seconds. But the Lions denied every scoring attempt to end the night with what proved to be a truly exhilarating victory.

With the win, Lindenwood is now 1-4 on the season. Air Force is 0-2-1.

The two clubs will conclude their series with a matchup on Saturday at the CCIC, with the opening faceoff scheduled for 2:10 p.m.

Logo	Period	Time	Scored By	Assisted By	AFA	LU
	1st	06:28	Schwartz, Austin	Brennan, Sam, Adams, Brian	1	0
(PP)	1st	08:30	Gagnon, David	Finnegan, Ryan, Jeffers, Kyle	1	1
	1st	09:59	Willis, Andy	Ruscheinski, Kieran, Allard, Mitch	1	2
	1st	13:45	Marti, Jacob	Rowe, Luke, Koch, Brandon	2	2
	2nd	03:36	Horn, Nate	Unassisted	3	2
(PP)	2nd	05:30	Gavin, Will	Koch, Brandon, Rowe, Luke	4	2
	2nd	07:59	Gavin, Will	Unassisted	5	2
	2nd	09:12	Reim, Willie	DeCarlo, Andrew, Rowe, Luke	6	2
	2nd	13:08	Neill, Max	Conquest, Adam, Price, Caleb	6	3
(PP)	2nd	19:11.8	Jeffers, Kyle	Willis, Andy, Prouty, Joe	6	4
(SH)	3rd	12:54	Johannes, Hunter	Unassisted	6	5
(PP)	3rd	14:12	Gagnon, David	Finnegan, Ryan, Wilkie, Coltan	6	6
	3rd	18:22	Finnegan, Ryan	Kuzma, Drew, Gagnon, David	6	7