At the conclusion of the 2-1 triple-overtime loss to Robert Morris in the first game of the CHA quarterfinals, all the Lindenwood women's hockey team could think about was how it wished it were on the winning side of the ice. It had not even crossed anyone's mind the record that had just been set.

"I wasn't aware that I had broken a record until the Robert Morris announcer said so while announcing the three stars of the game," said freshman goalkeeper Nicole Hensley. "At that time I don't really think it hit me because overall I was upset that we had lost such an important game."
In just over 108 minutes in the net, Hensley recorded an NCAA-high 90 saves. Hensley's 90 saves against the Colonials topped the previous mark of 78 saves set by Mercyhurst's Desi Clark in 2005. Clark's 78 saves came in a 112 minute triple-overtime loss against Harvard. Due to Lindenwood's status as a provisional member of NCAA Division II, the NCAA does not officially recognize Hensley's achievement as the most saves recorded in a game, but it will still be remembered as one of the top goalie performances at this level.

"In the locker room afterward Coach O'Mara presented me with the game puck as well as the official stat sheet," stated Hensley. "It was around then that I realized the significance of what had happened."

"The triple overtime performance by Nicole was one of the most impressive moments I have ever seen," said head coach Vince O'Mara. "She absolutely stood on her head and single handedly kept us in that game. She made some great saves and showed how great her conditioning was. We all really wanted to win that one for her."

Prior to the quarterfinal contest, Hensley only had two games where she recorded at least 60 saves, and two additional games where she had at least 50 saves.

In the second-to-last series of the season, Lindenwood hosted the Colonials for a two-game series at the Lindenwood Ice Arena. The Lady Lions were playing their best hockey of the season at that time, picking up the two-game sweep over Robert Morris. The pair of victories improved Lindenwood's record in the month of February to 4-0-2 with Hensley picking up all four victories in net.

Lindenwood finished the month of February with a 5-1-2 record, falling in the final regular season game against Syracuse. Lindenwood's strong finish ed it the fifth seed in the CHA conference tournament only to find itself traveling to Robert Morris, a team looking for revenge against the Lady Lions.

Robert Morris came out shooting early and often in the contest, outshooting Lindenwood 20-7 in the first period alone. The Lady Lions committed three penalties in the first period, including two in the final 4:37. During that final power play for Robert Morris, Hensley recorded back-to-back saves with less than a minute to go, keeping the game scoreless going into the first intermission.

After an intense first period by Robert Morris, the Lindenwood defense settled down and the offense stepped up. At the 7:50 mark in the second period, Lindenwood's Alyssa West got the Lady Lions on the board, scoring the game's first goal. It was an even-strength goal with assists going out to Allysson Arcibal and Alison Wickenheiser.

Just 28 seconds after Lindenwood's goal, Arcibal committed a penalty that granted Robert Morris a power play. Of the 11 shots on goal allowed in the second period, four of those came during that power play with Hensley making the stop on all of them.

Within the first minute of the third period, the Lady Lions were just inches away from finding themselves up 2-0 as Chelsea Witwicke had a shot that hit the pipe. Including Witwicke's pipe shot, the Lady Lions got off nine straight shots in the first 2:15 of the third period.

That momentum quickly changed hands as Lindenwood was once again charged with another penalty just over two minutes into the period. Robert Morris maintained possession during the power play, firing off ten straight shots of its own. Hensley made the stop on six of them that were on goal, but just seconds after the conclusion of the power play, Robert Morris' Maddie Collias connected with the back of the net to tie up the game at 1-1.

The two squads proceeded to battle out the remainder of the period in a deadlock, with neither team finding a way to score.

With just over two minutes remaining in the third period, Lindenwood found itself once again down a man as Katie Erickson was called for tripping. Robert Morris then helped the Lady Lions just nine seconds later with a goaltender interference penalty, but to no avail, Lindenwood couldn't capitalize on the opportunity. The Lady Lions did hold their own in the final minutes of the period as Hensley's last save came with over two minutes remaining.

Robert Morris held control during the first overtime period, allowing just one Lindenwood shot on goal in the first nine minutes while posting seven of its own. As the period progressed, the Colonials continued to maintain primary control of the puck. Hensley though, made 15 stops to keep Robert Morris scoreless.

Lindenwood had opportunities late in that period, but back-to-back saves with a minute remaining by Colonial goaltender Kristen DiCiocco, the game was forced to a second overtime.

The second overtime period proved to be similar to the first one, with Robert Morris holding on to any momentum that the team had left. This time, Hensley made two huge stops with less than two minutes remaining to force an additional overtime.

In the third overtime period, momentum appeared to shift as Lindenwood at first was taking control of the puck. Within the first minute, the Lady Lions got two shots off and forced a penalty against Robert Morris. During the power play, Lindenwood gave up a pair of shots to Robert Morris with Hensley making the stops while getting four more shots of its own.

At the 7:31 mark in the third overtime, the game changing moment occurred when Brooke Peden was assessed a two-minute penalty for tripping. This granted Robert Morris a power play that it would eventually convert on. Just over 30 seconds into the power play, the Colonials Cobina Delaney connected on a pass from Rebecca Vint and Kylie St. Louis that ended the game in a 2-1 loss for the Lady Lions.

Of Hensley's 90 saves, 41 of them occurred during the overtime periods.

"Honestly, I was just happy to say that my teammates and I had given everything we had," stated Hensley.

This contest would prove to be Hensley's final game as a freshman, as she sat out in the Lady Lions second contest against Robert Morris where they fell by a 2-0 margin.

Hensley performance in that game was noticed throughout the NCAA Division I hockey community and led to a slew of postseason honors for Hensley. The biggest was being named to the USCHO NCAA Division I All-Rookie team as the top freshman goalkeeper at the NCAA Division I level. She also earned an invitation to the prestigious Warren Strelow National Team Goaltending Camp.

The Lakewood, Colo. native was named the College Hockey America Rookie of the Year as well as earning second-team All-CHA and first-team all-rookie team honors. Hensley was named the CHA Rookie of the Week five times throughout the season and was the CHA Rookie of the Month in February.

"Nicole's freshman year was a pleasant surprise for us," said O'Mara. "Not the fact of how good she was, but more for her work ethic and determination to work her way into the No. 1 spot and keep it. We knew how good she could be in net, but what we didn't know is how hard she was willing to work to be her very best."

"At practice I try to be one of the first ones on the ice and one of the last ones off," said Hensley reflecting on her improvement throughout the season. "As the year went on, Coach Whitaker (goalie coach Cory Whitaker) and I identified some areas of my game that needed improvement and we made those a focal point for goalie practices which helped me become a better goaltender."


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