NEVILLE TWP, PA — The women’s hockey team will begin their 2020-21 season with a two-game series against the Lindenwood Lions at Clearview Arena. Puck drop for Thursday’s game is set for 6:05 pm and Friday’s will be at 1:05 pm. The rivals will meet again next week for another two-game set in St. Charles, Missouri.

The Colonials have an impressive 30-7-1 all-time record against Lindenwood. The Colonials have a 12-game winning streak against the Lions, their last loss coming back on January 13, 2017. This is the Colonials’ longest CHA winning streak against any other conference team.

Recapping RMU

The Colonials finished last season 20-12-4 overall and 13-5-2 in conference play. The Colonials earned a spot in the CHA Championship Game for the fourth consecutive year. RMU last took the ice Saturday, March 7, 2020, against Mercyhurst. The Colonials fell to the Lakers 2-1 in overtime.

Scouting Lindenwood

Lindenwood is 0-2 to start the season after back-to-back losses against Penn State on their opening weekend. Lindenwood started off with a 3-0 loss, only registering only 22 shots on goal, while the Nittany Lions registered 58. Despite their offensive troubles, goaltender Annika Asplundh was able to keep the Lions in the game, stopping 38-of-40 Penn State shots.

In their second match up the series, Penn State got on the board only 39 seconds into the game. The Lions were able to capitalize on a power-play in the first period when defenseman Jane Jacobs scored at the 12:13 mark. Penn State came into the second period strong, scoring three times during the frame. Although Lindenwood’s defense came back strong in the final period, allowing no goals, the offense was unable to produce a goal. Lindenwood dropped the second game of the series with Penn State by a final score of 4-1.

Players To Watch

Lexi Templeman (RMU) – Entering her senior season, the Colonials’ captain will be a player to watch all season. In her junior year, she finished second on the Colonials with 41 points. She was able to register 32 points in 36 conference games. Templeman ranked second in CHA in assists-per-game at 0.80 and tied for tenth in the nation in assists-per-game at 0.88. She will be a key player to help the Colonials kickstart their offense against the Lions.

Michaela Boyle (RMU) – A redshirt junior transfer from Clarkson University, Boyle had a remarkable first season with the Colonials. She scored 22 goals in 36 games last season, the eighth-most in all of the NCAA. Boyle is a key factor on the Colonials power-play, recording 11 of her goals on the unit. She also recorded just the fourth natural hat trick in team history in her redshirt sophomore season.

Annika Asplundh (LU) – The junior goaltender is off to an impressive start this season, recording a .970 save percentage with a 1.41 goals-against average through two games played. Asplundh was named CHA Goalie of the Week three times last season. Last season, she played over 1,440 minutes and made 767 saves.

Sierra Burt (LU) – Senior forward Sierra Burt will play a pivotal role in the Lions’ offense this series. Burt led Lindenwood with overall scoring last season with six goals and eleven assists. In the 2019-20 season, Burt collected one CHA Player of the Week honor to her name. Burt also recorded two game-winning goals last season.

Prediction

The Colonials will come out strong and win Thursday’s game 3-1. I think for Friday’s game the Lions may gain more momentum, but the Colonials will pull out the win 3-2.