Storylines
- The Lindenwood women's ice hockey team is looking for its first win of the season this week when it travels to St. Cloud State for a two-game series. Both games on Friday and Saturday start at 2:07 p.m.
- Lindenwood is 0-8-0 overall on the season, while St. Cloud State is 2-7-1 in 2012-13. The Lady Lions have lost eight straight games, while St. Cloud is winless in its last six contests.
- The contest will be between two teams looking to get their offenses going. St. Cloud State is 31st out of 34 NCAA Division I teams with 1.40 goals a game. Lindenwood, which is not eligible for the NCAA statistics lists, is averaging less than one goal a game.
- The Lady Lions and Huskies are also two of the most penalized teams in women's hockey. Lindenwood is averaging 14.6 penalty minutes a game, compared to 10.6 for St. Cloud State.
- Over half of Lindenwood's goals this season have come on the power play. The team has not scored an even-strength goal over the last five games.
- Both teams have played a difficult schedule. Lindenwood's opponents are currently 30-13-5 on the year, while St. Cloud State's foes are 25-13-2.
- St. Cloud State and Lindenwood will be facing each other for the first time since the Lady Lions moved to the NCAA level.
- The two programs will play four times this year. Besides this weekend's series, St. Cloud State will play at the Lindenwood Ice Arena on Nov. 30 and Dec. 1.
- Lindenwood will be playing its fourth series this season against a WCHA program. The Lady Lions are 0-6-0 in the previous games this season and are 0-12-0 all-time against the conference.
- St. Cloud State is playing its second non-conference series this season, after going 0-1-1 against Providence. It is 51-56-12 all-time outside of the WCHA.
- Lindenwood is 0-4-0 on the road this season, while St. Cloud State is 0-2-0 at the National Hockey & Event Center.
A Look Back At Mercyhurst
- Lindenwood was swept by No. 5 Mercyhurst in its first College Hockey America series. The scores were 6-0 and 6-1.
Lindenwood was tied after both first periods but was outscored 11-0 in the second and third periods of the series.
- The Lady Lions goalies,
Nicole Hensley and
Taylor Fairchild, combined to stop 122 in the series. They had a .910 save percentage against the Lakers.
- Lindenwood had its first lead in the series history with Mercyhurst when
Allysson Arcibal scored less than six minutes into game one of the series.
Chelsea Witwicke and
Caitlyn Post received assists on the goal.
Lindenwood Notes
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Nicole Hensley currently leads the CHA with 299 saves. Only one player in NCAA Division I has more saves than Hensley.
- Ten players have scored points for Lindenwood this season, led by
Alison Wickenheiser with three.
-
Allysson Arcibal and
Lyndsay Kirkham each have a team-high two goals. Three of the four goals between them were power-play scores. A total of five players have a goal this season for Lindenwood.
-
Alison Wickenheiser and
Brett Lobreau each have a team-high two assists. Eight Lady Lions have at least one assist on the year.
- Last season, Lindenwood's goalies had a save percentage of .866, including a .848 mark through the first eight games. This season, the Lady Lions are stopping nearly 90 percent of the shots faced through eight games.
- Lindenwood allowed 8.5 goals a game last year through the first eight games of the season. This year, it has cut that number down by 2.7 to 5.8 goals a game.
- The team's defense has improved despite it still trying to find the right lines.
Chelsea Witwicke and
Brooke Peden are the only two defenseman to play every game this year.
- Over the last two series, more than half of the goals allowed by Lindenwood have been power play or shorthanded goals. The Lady Lions are giving up just 2.3 even-strength goals a game during that span.
- Senior
Brett Lobreau is the team's captain for the second straight year.
Allysson Arcibal is an assistant captain for the second time, and
Alyssa West is an assistant captain for the first time.
CHA Notes
- Lindenwood was selected fifth in the CHA preseason coaches poll. Mercyhurst topped the poll, followed by Robert Morris, Syracuse, RIT, Lindenwood, and Penn State.
- Mercyhurst is the lone nationally-ranked team out of the CHA. The Lakers are No. 4 in the USCHO poll and No. 5 in the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine poll.
About St. Cloud State
- St. Cloud State is 31st in NCAA Division I in scoring offense and 22nd in scoring defense. It is 28th on the power play and 21st in penalty kill.
- Molli Mott leads the team with three goals and six points, while Alex Nelson has a team-high four assists and six points.
- Julie Friend and Katie Fitzgerald have split starts in goal. Fitzgerald has a 2.42 GAA and a .929 save percentage, while Friend has a 2.97 GAA and a .909 save percentage.
- Head coach of St. Cloud State is Jeff Giesen. Giesen is in his seventh season at the school and has a career mark of 68-134-28.
