The Lindenwood Women's Hockey team (4-6-0, 1-5-0 AHA) fell to No. 5 Penn State by a final score of 3-0 on Saturday afternoon in the series finale. The Nittany Lions scored twice in the third period to take control of the contest, handing the Lions their fourth consecutive loss.
In the first period, the Lions' special teams unit limited Penn State to just one shot on goal during an early two-minute four-on-four situation, which was handled by Ebba Ridderstolpe. The freshman goaltender from Sweden made her fifth consecutive start in net and stopped the next 10 shots she faced, finishing the period with 18 saves. However, the Nittany Lions found the back of the net at the 18:11 mark to take a 1-0 lead into the first intermission.
Ridderstolpe continued to keep the Lions within striking distance in the second period, stopping all 29 shots she faced. Lindenwood recorded seven shots on goal, with Silje Gundersen accounting for three of them, but all three attempts were turned aside by the Penn State goaltender. The Lions' penalty kill also came up strong, successfully killing off two Nittany Lion power plays to keep the deficit at one heading into the third period.
Penn State extended their lead to 2-0 with a short-handed goal at the 7:27 mark of the third period before adding an empty net goal 10 minutes later. Ridderstolpe made another 16 saves in the final frame to finish with a career-high 63 saves. Offensively, Gundersen led the Lions with four shots on goal as Lindenwood recorded 18 shots overall.
Lindenwood will return to action next weekend where they will travel to Minneapolis, Minnesota, for a two game series against the Minnesota Golden Gophers. The series will begin on Thursday, October 22, at 6 p.m. CT and will conclude on Friday, October 23, at 3 p.m. CT.
