At the semester break, the Lions had a long way to go in order to make WCHC playoffs. With the most games remaining in the conference, the Lions have put together a steady second semester, but the most pivotal weekend arrived, with the Lions facing Long Beach and Santa Barbara, with one of those three teams going to be a favorite for the final conference playoff spot.
On Friday the Lions hosted Long Beach, with the Beach getting on the board first. The Lions tied it up a few minutes later, with Freedman scoring on a pass from Brown. In the second the Lions scored early, with Brown getting his first of the night. Long Beach tied it late in the second, and the game went to the third tied 2-2. Halfway through the third, Brown scored a rebound to give the Lions a 3-2 lead, and scored again right after to give the Lions a 4-2 lead. LBSU would score one more, but Brown finished the night with four goals for the Lions, he scored into the empty net to secure the 5-3 win and give the Lions the path to playoffs. Ethan Han secured the win for the Lions, stopping 43 of 46 shots against.
On Saturday, the Lions hosted UCSB with a clear directive, Win and In. In a tight checking game, the Lions found themselves trailing 1-0 after the first. In the second, Baldwin scored on a pass from Freedman to tie the game, but the Gaucho’s would score twice more and lead 3-1 after two. The Lions regrouped at the break, and started adding pressure as time went by in the third. McSorley scored shorthanded early in the third to bring the Lions within one. The pressure kept up, as Brown scored to tie the game, and the very next shift Freedman scored on a pass from Brown to give the Lions the 4-3 lead. UCSB scored with five minutes remaining, tying the score 4-4, but weekend hero Brown scored with three minutes to play, and the Lions held on for the victory, and secured a spot in the WCHC playoffs. Ethan Han picked up his second win of the weekend, stopping 30 of 34 shots.
The Lions will celebrate senior night on Saturday 2/21, and attempt to move up the ranks for final playoff seeding.