(LEBANON, Ill., Dec. 6)—The McKendree University hockey team registered a 4-1 victory Friday night on the road against Missouri State University in Springfield, Mo.
 
The Bearcats won for the fifth time in their last six games to improve to 11-8 on the season. McKendree and Missouri State will wrap up their two-game weekend series Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m.
 
Four different players scored in the victory for McKendree. Freshman forwards Lazar Lestaric (Belgrade, Serbia/Sesta) and Ty Watt (Barrie, Ontario, Canada/Rama Aces GMHL) tallied in the first period for the Bearcats, while sophomore forward Jason Beilke, Jr. (Romeoville, IL/Plainfield Central), and freshman forward Sasha Perron helped ice the win with goals in the third period. Freshman Andrew Best (Midland, Ontario, Canada/Cambridge Bears Junior A) anchored the defensive effort for McKendree by making 33 saves to notch the win in goal. Best stopped all 20 shots he faced over the first two periods in Friday night's win.
 
With just over eight minutes left in the first period, Lestaric opened the scoring with an even-strength goal. Freshman forward Shane Hill (Fenton, MO/Rockwood Summit) and sophomore forward Ethan Gremminger (O'Fallon, MO/Fort Zumwalt North) collected the assists on Lestaric's tally. Watt followed with the only power-play goal of the contest with just 1:45 left in the period off a pass from sophomore forward Jacob Young (Arnold, MO/Fox).
 
The Bearcats' 2-0 lead stood until the early stages of the third period, when Missouri State scored its only goal of the contest to cut their deficit in half. Just over a minute later, Beilke took a pass from senior forward Jacob Schlote (House Springs, MO/Hillsboro) and found the back of the net to help McKendree regain a two-goal advantage. Perron added the exclamation point with his goal off a pass from senior forward Andrew Falls (Brentwood, TN/Brentwood).