complete game notes in .pdf format
Storyline
The ninth season of Lindenwood women's hockey is also the program's first season in many aspects. For the first eight years, the Lady Lions played in the American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA). This year, though, Lindenwood will play a full NCAA schedule for the first time as the program makes the transition to competing in the highest level of collegiate hockey.
Lindenwood is starting over nearly from scratch, with 14 of the 24 players on this year's roster being freshmen. Only nine players have played in a Lindenwood sweater before, and just one player is a senior.
The goal for the 2011-12 season is to begin the process of building a competitive NCAA program. The team's first official NCAA opponent is the perfect example to look up to. Wisconsin set a NCAA record last season with 37 wins, and won its fourth NCAA National Championship over the last six years.
A Look Back
Lindenwood finished its last season in the ACHA by going 33-3-2 overall. The Lady Lions won the CCWHA conference with a 12-1-1 mark, and also captured the conference tournament. At the ACHA National Tournament, the Lady Lions reached the semifinals for the sixth straight season, but fell in that round by a 3-2 score to Michigan State. Lindenwood bounced back to win the third-place game by a 6-0 margin.
Team Leader
Brett Lobreau has been named the team captain for the 2011-12 Lady Lions. She was one of five Lindenwood players to earn ACHA All-American honors last season, but is the lone returning player among those five.
Lobreau has scored 99 points in two seasons of play in the ACHA. Last year, she led Lindenwood with 29 goals and eight power-play goals.
Assistant Captains
Sophomores Kelsey Talbot and Allysson Arcibal will serve as the assistant captains this year.
Talbot led Lindenwood in points during her freshman season with 55. She was second on the team with 27 goals and first with 28 assists.
Arcibal finished her first collegiate season with 15 goals and 19 assists.
Returning Forwards
Lindenwood has the most experience at the forward positions, as it returns three other players besides its three captains.
Junior Erica Wynn has scored 22 goals and recorded 21 assists in her two seasons as a Lady Lion.
Sophomore Samantha Redick was fourth on the team last season with 18 goals, including tying for the team-high with four game-winning goals.
Junior Sarah Oliphant missed last season, but was second on the team in 2009-10 with 31 goals, 33 assists, and 64 points.
Returning Defenders
The lone returners at the defensive positions are Kendra Ganchar and Amy Stober.
Ganchar is the lone senior on this year's roster. She has lettered three years and played in 119 contests. Ganchar has a +125 +/- rating for her career.
Stober is a junior and has played in 81 games during her career. She has helped the Lady Lions record 39 shutouts over the last two years.
Between the Pipes
Freshman Taylor Fairchild is expected to earn the starting nod in goal for Lindenwood. Fairchild played for the Little Caesars Under-19 program last year and helped that team finish runner-up in the Tier I National Championship Tournament. She had a 1.02 GAA and a 19-3-2 overall record.
The lone returning goalkeeper is Kennedy Rupp. Rupp appeared in goal in three games last year and did not allow a goal in nearly 150 minutes. She had two shutouts and made 18 saves.
The third goalkeeper on the roster is Briar Bache. Bache played last season for the Aurora Panthers where she had a 2.04 GAA and a .930 save percentage.
World University Games
Three Lindenwood players played for Team USA at the World University Games last winter. Allyson Arcibal, Samantha Redick, and Erica Wynn helped the squad finish fourth at the competition.
Hanna Turpeinen played for the second-place Finland team at the event.
Key Newcomers
Lindenwood is very young with 14 freshmen and one transfer on the roster. Among the players expected to contribute right away are defenders Katie Erickson and Megan Cox, and forwards Alyssa West and Alison Wickenheiser.
Erickson is a former honorable mention all-state selection in Minnesota who returns to the ice after playing softball last season at St. Cloud State. Cox was a member of last year's national championship under-19 team, Shattuck-St. Mary's.
West had two goals and 10 assists in 15 league games for the Little Caesar's under-19 program. Wickenheiser scored 42 goals and collected 27 assists in 66 games for the Washington Pride under-19 team.
About the Badgers
Wisconsin returns 18 players from last year's national championship squad.
Offensively, the school's all-time goals leader, Hilary Knight, returns after leading the NCAA with 47 goals last year. Also back is Brianna Decker, who collected 34 goals and 46 assists last year.
Defensively, Wisconsin returns both goalkeepers and seven defensemen from last season's team which had a 1.69 GAA.
The Badgers, which are ranked No. 1 in the preseason coaches' poll, are currently riding a 27 games unbeaten streak and a 14-game winning streak.
Up Next
Lindenwood travels to Minnesota State Mankato for a two-game series on Sept. 30 and Oct. 1.
