This season, the Lindbergh Flyers hockey team has learned that a win is a win — no matter how it comes about.
That was evident Saturday night when the Flyers defeated Fort Zumwalt South 6-3 at the St. Peters Rec-Plex.
“In all honesty, it wasn’t a bad game, but we’ve played better games,” Lindbergh head coach Greg Anderson said. “Our guys have been consistent all season, but Saturday night wasn’t the prettiest of all games.”
Lindbergh (7-2) jumped out to a 1-0 lead when Alex Leonard scored with 11:26 left in the first period as Andy Thurby and Cody Guidorzi recorded the assists.
“Alex is a hard worker and I gave him the chance to play on the top line Saturday night,” Anderson said. “He was true to his form and was in the right position and looking for the rebound.”
Fort Zumwalt South tied the score at 1-1 on a goal by Timothy Livingston. But the Flyers bounced back with a 2-1 lead on a power-play goal by Thurby with 4:40 left in the first period. Guidorzi recorded the assist.
“Andy is one heck of a player and one of the leaders of the team,” Anderson said. “He really took things over for us during the power play.”
Brian Leslie gave the Flyers a 3-1 advantage with 54 seconds remaining in the first period with Guidorzi and Thurby notching the assist.
“Brian’s another team leader who’s a smart player that’s got speed and knows how to use it,” Anderson said. “He’s someone that everyone looks up to.”
Leslie scored his second goal of the game on a power play with 10:25 left in the second period with Thurby and Matt Leighton racking up the assists.
Lindbergh’s third power-play goal of the game came with 3:02 left in the second quarter when Zack O’Bryan lit the lamp to give the Flyers a commanding 5-1 lead. Rich Schroell and Nick Epstein recorded the assists.
Zumwalt South finally bounced back with 10:27 left in the third period on a power-play goal by Justin Lincoln to bring the score to 5-2.
But that didn’t keep the Flyers from scoring their sixth and final goal of the game when Dan Chitwood scored with Matt Muellersman and Steven Kaiser getting the assists.
“We ended up sitting the first two lines in the third period and Chitwood took a shot from the point,’ Anderson said. “He was able to work it through traffic and find the back of the net.”
The final goal of the game was scored by Lincoln on power play with 2:49 remaining to bring the score to 6-3.
The Flyers return to action at 8:45 p.m. Saturday when they face St. Mary’s at the Affton Athletic Association’s ice rink.
“I know a few of the kids on the St. Mary’s team and their top line can match up well with us,” Anderson said. “We know that their coaching staff will have them ready for our game.”
