The women’s ice hockey program at Lindenwood University was introduced to the school in 2003. The women’s team currently plays out of Lindenwood University’s Ice Hockey Arena, which is located in Wentzville, Missouri. The ice rink sits approximately thirty minutes from Lindenwood University’s campus in St. Charles, Missouri. When the program first developed, the team played at the ACHA Division I level, but it now plays at the NCAA Division I level.
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Coaching Staff
Vince O’Mara has served as head coach for the women’s hockey team for eleven seasons including the three seasons that Lindenwood has played at the NCAA Division I level. Throughout his coaching career he has earned two ACHA National Coach of the Year honors along with coaching the team to victory earning a 241-26-11 overall record at the club level. Joining the coaching staff at the start of the 2012-2013 seasons was Cory Whitaker. He accepted the role of goalie coach. Cory Whitaker was the former Head Coach of the Grand Valley State Lakers who are members of the ACHA. He assumed the role of Head Coach for five seasons at Grand Valley State University before taking the goalie coach position at Lindenwood University. The Lakers ended with a 67-64-7 overall record. The newest coach to join the 2013-2014 staff is Samantha Ullrich. Samantha was a defenseman for the Robert Morris Colonials from 2005-2009 playing in 130 games in her College Hockey America (CHA) career. She tallied 32 assists and five goals over her four years of playing for Robert Morris. Samantha earned coaching experience while coaching Team Pittsburgh U19 AAA girls’ team. 2010 was a good year for Samantha as she led the team to a National Championship and an International Silver Stick Championship. Putting together an experienced coaching staff could be a valuable asset to the 2013-2014 Lindenwood women’s ice hockey team.
ACHA Division I Season
The 2005-2006 was a special season for the Lions as they were eligible to host the national tournament at their home ice arena in Wentzville Missouri. Again Lindenwood coasted through the first round defeating Western Michigan University and North Dakota State University to allow them to face the University of Colorado. Lindenwood defeated Colorado 5-0 to move on to the semi-finals against Michigan State University, where they won 4-1. Having home advantage fired Lindenwood up to finish the tournament off with a national title beating Robert Morris in the championship 3-2.
The following 2006-2007 season was not the best recorded season for the lions: 27-6-1. Despite the highest number of losses in program history, they qualified for the national tournament, and advanced to the championship game once again facing Robert Morris. They lost scoring 4-1.
The next year, 2007-2008 season marked a whole new scene for the lions as they joined the Central Collegiate Women’s Hockey Association (CCWHA). During their season they recorded their best record, 36-3-0. That year Lindenwood successfully beat any opponent that stood in their way to win a CCWHA playoff championship. They beat University of Michigan in the final 4-0. Lindenwood qualified for the national tournament once again, making it their third appearance in the tournament. Looking to bring home the gold, Lindenwood had to compete against their rival Robert Morris in the championship game. Kat Hannah was a major threat to Robert Morris as she recorded 37 goals and 50 assists. The Lions hard work paid off as they defeated Robert Morris 2-1 claiming their second ACHA Division I national title.
The Lindenwood Lions had yet another leading season in 2008-2009 to add to the books. The team made a new season record of 32-3-3. Lindenwood proceeded to win another CCWHA playoff championship against Michigan State University. Lindenwood also kept up tradition of again qualifying for the national tournament, coasted through the tournament and brought home their third gold medal when again facing Robert Morris.
In 2009-2010, the Lions achieved a new season record: 43-2-2. They appearance again at the national tournament facing Michigan State University Spartans. The Lions came out hungry and defeated the Spartans 2-0 bringing home their fourth national title. Head Coach Vince O’Mara, during an interview, reflected on the year and said how it was a fun year for Lindenwood University as the men’s and women’s ice hockey team brought home the gold. The 2010-2011 season was a great season for the Lions as they ended an era to begin a new one. This season would mark their final season competing at the club level. The ladies dominated the league once again scoring a high number of goals against their opponents. Lindenwood tallied 30 goals against Northern Michigan University recording the highest scoring game in Lindenwood’s history. The Lions finished off the season with an overall record of 33-3-2. Winning another CCWHA playoff championship was a highlight for the Lions as they beat Grand Valley State University in the final. The Lions made it to the national tournament for the last time at the club level, but could not pull off the win. Michigan State University defeated Lindenwood 3-1 in the semi-finals ending their national title streak.
Transition to NCAA Division I
In 2010 Lindenwood University announced that the school was moving from National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) to Nation Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. Women’s Ice Hockey was dominant and would transition to the NCAA level. Women’s hockey consists of two division at the NCAA level: NCAA Division I and NCAA Division III; because Division II does not exist at the NCAA level women’s ice hockey will have to compete as Division I athletes. Accepting the challenge the lady lions will enter the league as an independent team starting the 2011-2012 season.
NCAA Division I Season's
In 2011 the Lindenwood Lions were in for a competitive season as they were scheduled to compete against some prestigious teams in women’s hockey. One competitor that Lindenwood was scheduled to play was the University of Wisconsin, who the lady lions will face for two series, a total of four games, throughout Lindenwood’s season. The Lions will dress for 22 games at the Division I level, 7 games at the division III level, and 5 games at the club level. At the club level Lindenwood will be playing Robert Morris University and Grand Valley State University. The series against Grand Valley State University was cancelled. On September 23, 2011, the Lions took the ice for the first time as NCAA Athletes facing the University of Wisconsin. Knowing that the first series of Division I play would be difficult, the lions shockingly held the badgers 1-0 at the end of the first. The lions could not hold on and lost to the University of Wisconsin 11-0. In the second game Lindenwood repeated the night before and lost to the Badgers 13-0. Lindenwood recorded their first NCAA win against Sacred Heart University, also recording their first sweep of the season beating them 4-0 and 5-2. The Lions ended their first season with an 8-21-0 record. Lindenwood University submitted their application to join College Hockey America (CHA) in September 2011. One month after they submitted the application Lindenwood University was inducted into the conference. They will be in a Conference with Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), Pennsylvania State University, Robert Morris University (Pennsylvania), Mercyhurst University, and Syracuse University.
The 2012-2013 year was an exciting year for Lindenwood. This is the first year that the transition to NCAA Division I was official. The Lindenwood Lions played 36 games with a conclusion of a 7-26-3 overall record. In conference play Lindenwood went 7-10-3. Alison Wickenheiser led the team with 24 points total Scoring 12 goals and 12 assists. On November 16, 2012 Lindenwood recorded their first CHA conference win against Pennsylvania State University beating the Nittany Lions 5-1. Lindenwood University qualified for the CHA playoff, but the lions got knocked out in the first round against Robert Morris University. The ladies fought hard against the colonials in both games of the series losing 1-2 in the first game and 0-2 in the second game. The Lions gave everything they had in the first game to take the colonials into triple overtime. Freshmen Nicole Hensley set an NCAA record recording 90 saves. For the 2012-2013 season, Nicole Hensley was named rookie of the year and was also honored to the national and CHA all-rookie teams.
The 2013-2014 year has just begun for the Lindenwood Lions as they played their first two game series against Bemidji State University. The Lions fell short to the Beavers losing 3-2. Jocelyn Slattery, Lindenwood forward, had two power-play goals keeping the Lions in the game. The lions came out strong in the second game tying the Beavers 1-1. Brooke Peden, Lindenwood defensemen, scored a power-play goal in the second period. The game went into overtime to break the tie, but neither team could get the puck past the goalies.