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Storyline
The Lindenwood women's ice hockey team concludes its inaugural season against NCAA competition with two games against Saint Michael's, a NCAA Division II program that competes in the Division III ECAC East Conference.

The Lady Lions are headed towards a strong finish to the 2011-12 season. Lindenwood has won four straight games against NCAA competition and has seven consecutive victories counting three exhibition wins over ACHA power Robert Morris.

Saint Michael's enters play this week with a 3-16-1 mark. The Purple Knights though have won two out of their last three contests.

Last Time Out
Lindenwood achieved its first two victories over a NCAA Division I opponent back on Jan. 20 and 21 with a series sweep at Sacred Heart.

In the opener, the Lady Lions shutout Sacred Heart 4-0, the first shutout against a NCAA opponent. Lindenwood scored just 82 seconds into the game to give the team a spark. Defensively, the Lady Lions allowed just 25 shots and held Sacred Heart to 0-for-6 on the power play.

Lindenwood got on the board even earlier in game two with a score just 19 seconds and another at the 1:20 mark. A shorthanded goal in the second period proved to be the game-winner in a 5-2 victory. The Lady Lions had 15 more shots and killed five-of-six Sacred Heart power-play opportunities.

Oliphant's GW Goal
Sarah Oliphant recorded her first point of the season in the first Sacred Heart game and it was an important one. Oliphant's goal in the game was the first game-winning goal in team history against a Division I program.

Oliphant has another notable game-winning goal for Lindenwood as she scored the winning goal in the 2010 ACHA National Championship game.

Hat Trick
Alison Wickenheiser collected her second hat trick of the season in game two of the Sacred Heart series. She had a hand in four of the team's five goals with three goals and one assists.

Wickenheiser is the team leader in nearly every category this season including goals (15), assists (15), and points (30). She is also first with five power-play goals and three shorthanded goals.

If Lindenwood was eligible for the NCAA statistical leaders, Wickenheiser's 1.11 points a game would ranked 37th in the nation and fifth among rookie players. Her three shorthanded goals would tie for fourth in the national statistics.

Fairchild's Shutout
Taylor Fairchild recorded the first shutout over a NCAA opponent when she blanked Sacred Heart in game one of that series. She made 25 saves, including 10 power-play shots.

Over her last five starts, Fairchild has a .906 save percentages and she has won three games. 

Cox Continues Streak
Defenseman Megan Cox continued her streak of having a positive plus-minus against Sacred Heart. She now has seven straight games with at least a +1, and she has nine for the season. In the recent span of seven games, she is +12.

The other defender on Lindenwood's first line, Brett Lobreau, is a +9 over the last seven games. Lobreau has a positive mark for six of those games.

Caitlyn Post's Scoring
Caitlyn Post's point streak ended at six games when she did not get a point in the second Sacred Heart contest. The impressive streak though collected six goals and two assists for her. Post is second on the team with 11 goals and third with 15 points.

Defense Wins Games
Lindenwood's turnaround late in the season has been caused by its defense. In its five victories since the start of January, the Lady Lions have allowed just eight goals. Lindenwood's defense is allowing just 29 shots a game in those wins, and opponents are just four-of-26 on the power play.

Penalty Killing
Over the last four games, Lindenwood has allowed just three power-play goals, and it has killed off 85.7 percent of power plays.

Lindenwood has also struggled scoring on the power play. It has just two power-play goals in the last five games, and has a 10.5 percentage in that span.

Tough Schedule
If the season ended today, it is likely that seven of Lindenwood's losses would come against teams that make the NCAA Division I Tournament field. Wisconsin, North Dakota, and Mercyhurst are all in position to make the women's postseason tournament.

Vs. NCAA Division III
Lindenwood is 4-3-0 this season against NCAA Division III programs. The Lady Lions have not swept a DIII series yet.

About the Purple Knights
Saint Michael's enters play this week with a 3-16-1 record. Two of its wins have come since Jan. 28 with victories over Castleton and Plymouth State.

The Purple Knights are averaging just 1.4 goals a game, and are allowing over four goals a contest. The team has scored on 11 percent of its power plays, and have killed 71.4 percent of opposing team's power-play opportunities.

Madelena Santore leads the team with nine goals, and Kristen Spulecki has a team-high 10 assists and 16 points. The goaltending is Erin Stevens, who has a .900 save percentage and a 3.77 GAA.

Head coach of Saint Michael's is Chris Donovan. He is in his 12th year at the school and is one win shy of 50 victories.

Schedule Change
The exhibition series between Lindenwood and ACHA's Grand Valley State has been cancelled. The series was suppose to be Feb. 24-25 at the Lindenwood Ice Arena.