Oct
2

Lions Comeback Saves Weekend

The Lions took to the road for their first trip of the season, staying in state to play SJSU and Cal.  On Friday night, the Lions got off to a fast start as Matisse Hawthorne scored his first as a Lion.  SJSU would tie it up late in the first, but Chris Manzer scored late to give the Lions a 2-1 lead after the first frame.  The Lions scored early in the second, as Engstrom fired home a great pass from Kaczmarek.  The Lions controlled play in the second, peppering the SJSU net and finally scoring again as Manzer slid the puck on the ice five hole to give the Lions a 4-1 lead.  SJSU would add another, brining the score to 4-2 after two.  In the third, the Lions would start a troubling trend of getting into penalty trouble, giving SJSU a PP goal to cut the lead to 4-3.  But the Lions would hold strong, with Henry Lissner getting the victory and Hawthorne scoring on the empty net to win 5-3.

On Saturday, a listless first period ended with no scoring.  In the second, Martin would put up the first of several on the weekend, picking up his own rebound and wrapping it around to open the scoring.  In the later part of the second, SJSU would score a PP goal to tie the game at 1, but right after Rodriguez would score on a rebound to give the Lions the 2-1 lead after 2.  The third saw some back and forth action, until there were five minutes left, when SJSU would score on a defensive turnover to tie the game at 2.  LMU would again head to the box, and SJSU would convert on a cross ice pass, taking the 4-3 lead.  With the LMU goalie pulled, the Lions willed to tie the game, but SJSU would score on the empty net, handing the Lions their first loss of the season, 5-3.

Sunday the Lions looked to salvage the trip, and it started early as Bryson Martin poked the puck free and scored on a breakaway.The Lions would bookend the period, scoring with a minute left, Kaczmarek’s first of the night, poking home a rebound.  The Lions led 2-0 after One.  The second would turn into an awful period for the Lions, as Cal would score 5 unanswered goals. The Lions would pressure, but Cal was finding the back of the net over and over, taking a 5-2 lead into the third.  Henry Lissner replaced Colton Marcy with 4 minutes to go in the second.

Lissner made a big 3on1 save early in the third, as the Lions sent extra players deep in the zone in an attempt to bring the score closer.  It worked soon after, Martin would score his second of the game to bring the Lions within two.  The next shift the Lions found themselves on a PP, and Scott MacGillivray fired a point shot through a screen to score, the Lions trailed by one.  But Cal would come back to score again, tipping home a wide angle shot.  The Lions, trailing by 2, got a boost with 13 minutes to go, as Martin finished off his hat-trickwith a slap shot from the slot that beat the goalie.  The Lions would get a special teams goal with 8:45 to go, Swenson-Lennox poked home a loose puck, tying the game.  Both teams traded chances down the stretch, but the game was headed to OT.  The Lions would prevail in OT, as Kaczmarek would poke the puck free from the Cal defenseman, and go all the way on a breakaway to score to seal the win.  Henry Lissner gets the victory, his 2nd of the year.  The Lions moved to 3-1 on the year.