The Lindenwood women’s ice hockey team will begin their second half of the season this weekend, with either a forward or a goalie in the net.

The Lions’ three goalies were taken out of play due to injuries in fall 2019.

During the first half of the season, Sophie Wolf, the starter goalie, was hospitalized for a week and only appeared in four games for 115 saves. Annikah Asplundh took over as the goaltender on Nov. 13 but suffered a concussion later in the season. The Lions’ third goalie, Lauren Hennessy, suffered a concussion as well. 

Going into the Dec. 6-7 series against Syracuse, the Lions put Cierra Paisley as goalie for the first game series, and posted an 81.5 save percentage for her first game ever as a goalie. Forward Madilynn Hickey  guarded the net for game two, making 32 saves for the first time using the pads. Because all three goalies were injured, the following series against Minnesota State got postponed until Jan. 31.

“We just come back when our head and bodies are feeling good,” Wolf said. “For concussions, [goalies’] protocol is a series of online reading tests, then a step by step ‘return to play’ physical testing to pass to get cleared to return to fully playing.” 

While it still hasn’t been announced who the goalie for this weekend will be, the Lions will be facing long-time foe Penn State for a College Hockey America match in Pennsylvania. In the CHA, the Lions are ranked No. 5 out of 6 teams. 

The Lions have 16 wins, 16 losses and four ties against the Nittany Lions from 2010 to 2019. This will be the first time since March 2019 that the teams meet. 

The Lions are currently on a four-game losing streak with a conference record of 0-6-0 and 2-12-3 overall.