Not This Time
UMSL drops national championship game 6-3 to Lindenwood; Tritons finish second in the nation
GPCIHL April 15th, 2008 at 7:14PM April 15th, 2008 7:32PMThe University of Missouri-St. Louis Tritons finished as the 2008 NCRHA Division I national runner-up after losing 6-3 to the Lindenwood University Lions in the championship game on Sunday in Colorado Springs.
UMSL finishes the 2007-08 season with a 24-4-0 record, with at least one win over every opponent it faced.
All four of UMSL’s losses came at the hands of Lindenwood, the cross-town rival that has won seven consecutive national titles and is the only college program with any business calling itself a “dynasty.†And that’s on a national level – not just in St. Louis.
UMSL vs. LU, fast facts
Lindenwood has lost just once in the past three and a half seasons, and just twice in its last 182 games. On Sunday, the Lions won their seventh straight national title.
The Tritons’ 6-4 win over the Lions on March 2 in the Great Plains league championship was LU’s first loss in 110 games. UMSL is the only team to beat the Lions since November 2004.
Lindenwood has faced a two-goal deficit just four times over its last 117 games. All four two-goal deficits came in ’07-08 against UMSL. No other opponent has built a two-goal lead over Lindenwood since the Lions’ 4-2 loss to Meramec CC on Nov. 20, 2004. The Tritons led LU 2-0 during the second period of an eventual 5-3 loss on Nov. 18, then led by a pair three times (4-2, 5-3, and 6-4) in the third period of the GPCIHL DI final on March 2.
UMSL scored 17 of the 30 goals Lindenwood allowed during the 2007-08 season (57%), including nine of the 15 goals LU allowed in the postseason.
Lindenwood scored 33 of the 73 goals UMSL allowed during the 2007-08 season (45%), including 10 of the 31 goals UMSL allowed in the postseason.
UMSL freshman PJ Tallo scored five goals and put up 10 points against Lindenwood this season, with points in all five UMSL-LU matchups.
UMSL captain Adam Clarke scored three goals and put up eight points against LU this season, and also scored in all five UMSL-LU matchups.
UMSL goaltender James Cash is the only goalie to beat Lindenwood since Meramec’s Kyle Middendorf.
UMSL goaltender Thomas Ames has started five games against LU since 2004-05, never allowing more than six goals.
Lindenwood's Division I roster includes players from four different states: Missouri (Dustin Brown, Erick Cantrell, Mark Ell, Travis Fudge, Kyle Gouge, Jeff Hill, Greg Morton, Tom Mueller, Nick Syrigos), California (Brandon Barnette, Danny Frey, Michael Inouye), Florida (Mike Thiefault), and New York (Tommy Bruce, John McGuinness).
There is just one non-Missouri native in UMSL's entire organization: Jason Shields, who moved to St. Louis from New Orleans to attend UMSL after Hurricane Katrina. Shields chose UMSL over several other schools, based largely on the inline hockey club.
More season-in-review coverage to come.
---------------------
