"The guys stayed with it, there were times where we were a bit loose," MSU head coach Adam Nightingale said postgame. "Lindenwood is really competitive and made it hard on us. In some shifts we decided to be competitive with the puck, other times I thought maybe we were a little bit light."

The Lions, who entered Friday night 3-10-1 on the season, could never make a dent in the Spartans' maturity and discipline. 

Special teams play a role for all 60

Nightingale and his players knew they'd be facing a team that makes things difficult up the middle of the ice, but that didn’t stop the Spartans from coming out of the gates firing. 

"You look at how (Lindenwood) scored against some teams, they've got some guys that can make plays and you’ve got to try and limit those. I thought we did a really good job clearing pucks when we got a chance to,"Nightingale said.

MSU's special teams through the first period stood out with a power play goal and three penalties killed.

MSU spent six minutes of the first period down a man, but a penalty kill not only broke up shots to the net but took shots of its own on several shorthanded opportunities throughout those six minutes.  

MSU junior defenseman Matt Basgall got the Spartans on the board first, landing a wrist shot from the blue line behind Lindenwood netminder Owen Bartoszkiewic. A deflected goal from junior forward Daniel Russell on a breakaway put MSU up 2-0, and the score remained that way for the remainder of the first and second period.

Even with a strong penalty kill in the first period and a power play goal, a man advantage in the second allowed two shorthanded opportunities for the Lions. With a race to prevent the scoring from the MSU defense, sophomore netminder Trey Augustine stood tall between the pipes.

MSU dominates third for shutout victory

With two goals in the first period and none through the middle frame, the Spartans finished off the Lions with a spark in the final 20 minutes. Augustine cracked down on all 29 shots he faced through the game for yet another shutout. 

"You’re trying to start with perfection, but it’s not going to happen every night," Augustine said of his shutout. "It’s cool, but I am just looking to win hockey games."

For his first goal of the season, sophomore forward Tommi Männistö hopped over Lion defenders and put the puck in the net for MSU's third goal of the game. The onslaught didn't stop there. As a penalty shot was rewarded to the Spartans, junior forward Isaac Howard traveled up center ice and sniped one to ensure a comfortable MSU win in the waning minutes of the game.

The Spartans and Lions will be back at Munn Ice Arena for MSU’s last home game of the 2024 calendar year on Sunday, Dec. 1 at 4 p.m.