The Lindenwood roller hockey program pulled off the daily double again as both the DI and B Division teams won national championships.

?We had to battle for this one, Michigan State is a great team and they gave us everything we could handle,? said head coach Ron Beilsten of the victorious Lindenwood Lions.

The Lions had to claw and scratch for the 7-5 win and their fifth consecutive national championship.

Junior Greg Thompson, Tournament MVP for the third straight year, opened the scoring for the Lions on a short-handed effort.  Sophomore Jeff Hill (Francis Howell North) scored less than a minute later to put the Lions up 2-0.  And fellow sophomore Travis Fudge scored unassisted nine minutes in to give Lindenwood a 3-0 lead.  But Mike Mackert would capitalize on the power play to bring the Spartans to within two at the end of the first period.

Ken Jung of Michigan State would score 16 seconds into the second period to make it a one goal game.  But a three minute stretch of hockey after that goal would be the deciding factor in the game.  The Lions exploded for four goals in that three minute stretch.  Sophomore Derek Tunison answered quickly with an unassisted goal to move the margin back to two.  Junior Brandon Marchand (Fort Zumwalt North) would score the first of his two goals to give the Lions more breathing room.  Freshman Tomasz Zukowski would score next and his tally would prove to be the game winner.  Marchand followed that with a power play goal that would give the Lions just enough to coast home to victory.  The Spartans would not lie down after the Lions onslaught as they scored two late second period goals to bring the game to within three at 7-4.

Eric Lubanski would score the lone goal of the third period to bring on the final score of 7-5.

?They ( Michigan State ) never gave up, but our guys were so determined and resilient all year.  We have had a target on our back for a few years now, but our guys continue to answer the bell.  We have a great group of guys and I am real proud of their effort to bring home a fifth straight championship,? said Coach Beilsten.

Junior Brian Coleman (Francis Howell Central) stopped 31 of 36 shots to earn the victory in the title game.

?It never gets old winning, but our success has come with a lot of hard work from our players and coaches.  We prepare hard all season because we want to reap the rewards at the end of the season.  Give Michigan State plenty of credit, but this victory was a great team win for Lindenwood,? said junior Greg Thompson who has taken home tournament MVP honors all three years he has been at Lindenwood.

?Back to back.  Doesn?t have a bad ring to it,? said B team head coach Jeff Berger.

The Lions B team knew that repeating as national champions wasn?t going to be easy, but they saved their best game for last and destroyed Meramec C.C. B by the score of 10-1. 

?We worked hard all year in practice and it was nice to see the hard work pay off in such a great performance in the championship game,? said assistant coach J.P. Beilsten.

Sophomore Jeremy Scott (St. Charles West) opened the scoring for the Lions four minutes into the first period.  Meramec would answer with a tally of their own to tie the game 1-1.  But freshman Dave Warren ( Oakville ) scored a power play goal in the last minute of the first period to give the Lions a 2-1 lead.  The goal by Warren would prove to the championship winner.

The Lions were able to blow the game wide open in the second period with six unanswered goals.  Scott, sophomore Wayne Bridges ( Affton ), senior Robby Carroll (Windsor) and Ryan Peers scored the six goals for the Lions.

Senior Dan Illsley added two third period goals to insure the Lions 10-1 win.

Sophomore Adam Traw (Fort Zumwalt South) stopped 16 of 17 shots to secure the win between the pipes.

Senior captain Jon Hilke (Warrenton) commented on the back to back championships, ?We have a great group of guys and great coaches.  We set a goal to get back and win a championship again this year and it is real satisfying knowing we reached our goals.?