2025–26 Lindenwood Lions men's ice hockey season

The 2025–26 Lindenwood Lions men's ice hockey season was the 4th season of varsity play for the program. The Lions represented Lindenwood University in the 2025–26 NCAA Division I men's ice hockey season, played their games at the Centene Community Ice Center and were coached by Keith Fisher in his 1st season.

When Bill Muckalt announced that he was leaving after just one season as head coach, Lindenwood was left scrambling.^[1] The school responded quickly by hiring Penn State associate head coach Keith Fisher to fill the role as well as replenish a roster that had been denuded by transfers and graduation. With so much uncertainty going into the season, there was little reason to expect any level of success for the Lions.

At the dawn of the campaign, the team was hoping that Minnesota Duluth transfer Klayton Knapp would be able to hold the fort in goal and allow the many new faces to coalesce into a respectable unit. Unfortunately, things did not work out as planned. In the first month of the season, neither Knapp nor freshman Liam Beerman seemed able to keep the puck out of the goal. Fortunately for Lindenwood, the offense quickly got under way and stopped the season from slipping away. While the Lions were shutout twice in the first four weeks, they still managed 19 goals in 8 games and even managed to get one over on #5 Denver. Further helping their cause, after a pair of overtime losses to Miami, Beerman got used to the college game and started providing credible goaltending for the team. Beginning with a 1–0 shutout of Ferris State, Lindenwood won five games in a row, the best stretch of games in the short history of the program. Their positive record and relatively high strength of schedule had the Lions flirting with a potential NCAA tournament berth by the end of November.^[2]

The team had a chance to establish itself for postseason play with two series around the holiday break. Four games against Maine and Minnesota Duluth would go a long way to determine how the Lindenwood's season would finish. Unfortunately, goaltending failed them during that stretch. In those matches, the two Lion netminders surrendered 26 goals and gave the team almost no chance to win no matter how well the offense performed. By the time they pulled out of their tailspin, Lindenwood had dropped from 17 in the NPI to 43 and had virtually no chance at making the tournament. Inconsistent play in goal dogged the team for the remainder of the year but the Lions were still able to ride the hot hand of their offense, which averaged 3.5 goals per game for the season, to an even record.

After finishing up their schedule, Lindenwood hosted the inaugural United Collegiate Hockey Cup, a tournament for all active independent programs. They ended up in a see-saw battle with Long Island that twice saw the Sharks tying the game. However, with just 8 seconds left in the match, Anselmo Rego scored the winning goal and sent the Lions to the championship game.^[3] Playing before their home crowd with a chance not only to win a title but produce their first winning season, Lindenwood faced Alaska in the final game of the season. The offense was sluggish over the first two periods and after 40 minutes, the Lions found themselves behind by 2 goals. The team responded by throwing everything they could on goal and ended up with 23 shots in the third. The heavy pressure led to a pair of goals and Jacob Fletcher tied the score with under 3 minutes to play. While momentum was on their side as regulation ended, a mistake early in overtime proved disastrous. After a rush towards Beerman was broken up, Lindenwood got ahold of the puck behind the net. An ensuing pass up the ice was intercepted and quickly deposited into the Lions' cage, ending the season in heartbreaking fashion.^[4] Despite the sour end, this was still the bet season that Lindenwood had produced in its short history.

As of August 24, 2025.^[5]

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Note: USCHO did not release a poll in week 12.^[8]
Note: USA Hockey did not release a poll in week 12.