Nicole Hensley returns to the Lindenwood coaching staff for her second stint in 2019-20, after serving as an assistant coach with the Lions in 2016-17.
Over her four-year career, Hensley had one of top careers of any Lindenwood student-athlete. On the ice, she was a four-time all-CHA player, including first-team honors her final two seasons. She is the first women's collegiate goalie to record 90 saves in a games and over 4,000 saves in a career. Hensley finished her Lindenwood career with 4,094 saves, a 2.98 GAA, and a .921 save percentage.
Off the ice, Hensley was the first three-time Academic All-American in Lindenwood history. She was just the second female student-athlete to earn first-team Academic All-American honors when she earned that honor in 2016. She was also a four-time CHA Student-Athlete of the Year and a CHA Scholar-Athlete.
After her collegiate playing career, Hensley won gold with the U.S. Women's National Team at the 2016 and 2017 IIHF Women's World Championships. The Green Mountain product made 16 saves in a shutout of Team Russia during the 2016 tournament, while earning three victories and two shutouts in the 2017 tournament.  In the 2018 Winter Olympics, Hensley and Team USA won the gold medal in PyeongChang, South Korea after defeating Team Canada 3-2 in a shootout. Earlier in the tournament, Hensley posted a 13-save shutout over Team OAR in the preliminary round.Â
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In the spring of 2018, Hensley was honored by the St. Louis Blues in recognition of Team USA earning the first gold medal in women's hockey since 1998. Hensley inked a contract a few months later to compete with the Buffalo Beauts in the National Women's Hockey League (NWHL). Hensley was selected to compete in the NWHL All-Star game in 2019, and was named the fastest goaltender at the skills competition.
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