The Lindenwood Women's Hockey team (6-10-0, 3-7-0 AHA) picked up their third Atlantic Hockey America victory of the season on Saturday afternoon, earning a 2-1 win over Syracuse at Centene Community Ice Center. Silje Gundersen and Renee Ng each scored a goal for the Lions, while freshman goaltender Ebba Ridderstolpe turned aside 43 shots to earn her third win of the season.
Lindenwood's special teams unit was tested early, as the Lions were called for a penalty just 33 seconds into the contest. Syracuse recorded three shots on goal during the power play, but Ridderstolpe stopped all three attempts, while Gundersen blocked another shot to keep the game scoreless. The Orange continued to apply offensive pressure following the penalty, recording seven additional shots on goal before earning their second power play of the period. Syracuse eventually broke the scoreless tie at the 13:08 mark, converting on the power play to take a 1-0 lead. However, Lindenwood responded late in the period after earning a power play opportunity of their own with less than two minutes remaining. Gundersen netted her fourth goal of the season, and second power play goal, off assists from Thea Rustbakken and Krisztina Weiler to even the score at 1-1 heading into the first intermission.
After recording just three shots on goal in the opening period, the Lions generated more offense in the second, with Michaela Paulinyova and Gundersen combining for five of the team's 10 shots. However, Lindenwood was unable to find the back of the net in the middle frame while Ridderstolpe turned aside all 14 shots she faced to keep the game tied heading into the third period. The Lions had another opportunity to take the lead late in the period, recording four shots on goal during a power play, but the Syracuse goaltender stopped all four attempts to keep the game tied.
The momentum from the late power play carried into the third period for the Lions as Ng scored her second goal in as many games at the 4:01 mark to give Lindenwood a 2-1 lead with just under 16 minutes remaining. Grace Rentmeester and Raquel McCormack assisted on the goal, with McCormack recording an assist for the second consecutive game. Syracuse applied offensive pressure once again following the goal, recording 16 shots on goal and five of them occurring on their third power play opportunity of the contest. However, Ridderstolpe came up big and stopped all 16 shots to keep the lead in tact and secured the 2-1 victory and series split for the Lions.
"I was really proud of the team for how they came back after yesterday." said head coach Max Gavin. "We found a way to put one away which is what we needed to do. It was an excellent team win and a lot of people stepped up today."
Lindenwood will travel to RIT next weekend for their next AHA series which begins on Friday, November 13, at 2 PM CT.
