HERSHEY, Pa. ­­– Cade Helmer, Cameron Croteau, and Jordan Stear each recorded a goal and an assist on Senior Day, helping propel the Lebanon Valley College men's ice hockey team to a 4-0 victory over Stevenson University on Saturday, Feb. 14, at Hersheypark Arena. 

The Flying Dutchmen celebrated Senior Day before the game, recognizing Croteau, Stear, Helmer, Mason Proskin, Dylan Miller, Reece McDonald, Lukas Washco, Garret Jackson, Troy Andrews, Jadon Lee, Chris Branch, and Tanner Tolliver.

The Dutchmen (8-13-3, 8-9-3 MAC) and Mustangs (14-9-1, 13-6-1 MAC) went back and forth defensively early in the contest, as each program put three shots on goal that were saved during the first 3:28 of the first period. Branch then faced nine shots on target over the next 3:49, and the goaltender made a save for Lebanon Valley on each attempt. During this stretch, Stear and Miller also each took a shot for LVC that was saved. The Flying Dutchmen then began a power play in the eighth minute, which led to Helmer registering an attempt that was saved at the 7:58 mark. 

Lebanon Valley also continued to send the puck toward the net as the first frame progressed, as the squad outshot Stevenson 7-3 over the next 7:12. The Mustangs later started a power play in the 16th minute, and the Dutchmen answered with two saves by Branch and two blocks by Ian Lindberg during a successful penalty kill. Branch also tallied three saves for LVC within 33 seconds in the 19th minute. The Flying Dutchmen then took the last shot of the period, as Andrews had an attempt saved with 24 seconds left. 

Lebanon Valley's defense kept working to limit the opposition when the second period got underway, as Branch posted five saves while Broden Wood, Washco, and Tolliver each had a block during the first 5:59. The Dutchmen then began a 5-on-3 power play in the eighth minute, and they capitalized at the 7:52 mark to take a 1-0 lead. The program opened the scoring when Helmer netted a power-play goal, courtesy of assists by Stear and Owen Ames. LVC also started a 5-on-3 power play in the ninth minute, and Max Kontir put a shot on target that was saved during this stretch.

The Mustangs began a power play in the 11th minute of the second period, and Branch came through with three stops during a successful penalty kill. This was followed by the teams trading shots, as each squad put four attempts on goal saved during the 4:43 after the end of the power play. Stevenson started another power play in the 16th minute, and LVC held the opposition to a try that was blocked by Helmer during a successful penalty kill. Branch proceeded to make three more saves for Lebanon Valley during the rest of the frame, while Anton Petrovskiy put a shot on target that was saved with 24 seconds to go. 

The Dutchmen started the third period with just under two minutes left on a power play, and the team took advantage of this opportunity, going up 2-0 at the 1:07 mark. The program found the net on a power-play goal by Kontir, after assists by Croteau and Helmer. Defensively, Branch continued his dominant performance with six saves for LVC over the next 8:40. The goaltender contributed to two successful penalty kills for Lebanon Valley during this span, with a stop when Stevenson had a two-skater advantage, and a save when the opposition was on a 5-on-4 power play. 

Branch later made more saves for the Flying Dutchmen at the 14:10 and 15:27 marks during two successful penalty kills. The goaltender also tallied two stops in the 17th minute, before making a save at the 17:48 mark when the opposition had a  5-on-4 advantage in skaters. Stevenson had this advantage after penalties were charged to both teams, and the squad pulled its goalie. Lebanon Valley then scored on an empty net goal by Croteau, extending its lead to 3-0. Lindberg was credited with an assist on this goal. Branch followed this with seven saves for LVC over the next 1:25. The Dutchmen then tacked on an insurance point with 16 seconds remaining, prompting 4-0 to be the final score. The program secured its victory with an unassisted, empty net goal by Stear. 

Inside the Box Score

• Helmer tied a game-high two points with his sixth goal of the season and his team-leading 17th assist. The senior's goal marked his first game-winner of the year. Helmer has also recorded at least one point in each of his last five games. Additionally, he won two faceoffs and blocked a shot. 
• Croteau tied a game-high and season-high two points with his fifth goal and ninth assist of the campaign. This marked the senior's ninth consecutive game with at least one point. 
• Stear tied a game-high and career-high two points with his second goal and 10th assist of the campaign. The fifth year's assist was on Helmer's game-winner. Stear also blocked three shots on the defensive end. 
• Kontir scored his sixth goal of the season while winning a game-high 16 faceoffs. 
• Ames dished out his eighth assist of the winter on the game-winning goal by Helmer. The first-year also won a faceoff and blocked a shot.
• Lindberg was credited with his third assist of the campaign on Croteau's goal. The junior tied a season-high three blocks as well. 
• Branch made a game-high and season-high 54 saves during his first shutout of the season. 
• Lebanon Valley recorded 29 shots on goal.
• Croteau and Ames tied for the team lead in shots with four each. 
• Defensively, the Flying Dutchmen had a 14-9 advantage in blocked shots. 
• LVC tallied 30 faceoff wins.

Up Next
Lebanon Valley will close out the season on Friday, Feb. 20, at 7 p.m., when the program will travel to take on Alvernia University at Body Zone in Reading, Pa.

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