Alumni goalie Michael Hails was inducted into the Lindenwood Athletics Hall of Fame after helping the Lindenwood University Lions win Division I National Championship back in 2015-16.
His team got it done with a 2-1 victory over Iowa State.
Another former KIJHL player, Riley Spraggs, was on the team and had this to say about his goaltender.
“He was a guy that we counted on all year long. When it came down to the nitty-gritty, even in the league finals, you have to win the games to move on,” said Spraggs in a release.
“If you lose you are done. You see a lot of upsets and things like that, and Hails was on his head the whole time.”
Hails was selected as the Most Valuable Player at the ACHA National Championship.
“He was completely zoned in,” Spraggs continued, “he knew what he had to do, and he knew that he was going to do it, and he delivered every single game. We knew we could count on him and yeah, he was lights out.”
Earlier this year the team was inducted into the school’s hall of fame.
Hails played for the Thunder Cats from 2011 to 2013.