The Lindenwood women's hockey team will open the 2018-19 season in Madison, Wis. to take on No. 2 Wisconsin for a two-game series.  Game one is set for 7 p.m. on Friday night while Saturday's matchup will begin at 2 p.m. with both games being played in Labahn Arena.
 
Returning for the Lions will be leading goal-scorer Taylor Girard who netted 13 goals and added 11 assists.  Hannah Alt will bring back 10 goals from last season while Courtney Ganske will look to build off her strong sophomore campaign as she led the team with 19 assists in 2017-18.  The Lions were 10-20-1 last year while posting an 8-12-0 record in conference play.
 
Head coach Scott Spencer brought in graduate transfer Nikki Friesen from Harvard University as well as Nicole Guagliardo from Mercyhurst.  The Lions will add size on the ice with Jada Burke standing at 6-0 and Maddison Stitt at 5-10.  Taylor Kirwan is coming off of a bronze medal with Team Canada at the U18 World Championships.  Fellow freshman Sophie Wolf, Kayla Martinez, and Annika Asplundh will bring successful resumes to the 2018-19 squad.
 
The Badgers enter the game ranked No. 2 in the country in the USCHO polls released on September 17.  Lindenwood played its closest game against the Badgers last season in the first meeting of the two-game set.  Wisconsin took a two-goal lead in the second period, but Taylor Girard scored on the power play to make it a 2-1 game after two periods of play.  Jolene deBruyn tallied 48 saves in the game including 19 in the third period, but the Badgers added another goal in the final period to defeat the Lions 3-1.
 
Lindenwood will remain on the road after the opening series with No. 2 Wisconsin.  The Lions will travel to Schenectady, N.Y. on October 5 to take on Union College in a two-game series.  Lindenwood will play its first home game of the season on October 19 against Syracuse University at Lindenwood Ice Arena in Wentzville, Mo.