Three Lindenwood hockey players chosen to compete at World University Games
Three members of the Lindenwood University-Belleville women’s ice hockey team have been chosen to represent the United States at the 2019 World University Games.
They include freshman goaltender Hannah Stone, junior forward Alicia Williams, and junior defenseman Katie Stelling.
The 2019 World University Games will be played in Krasnoyarsk, Russia from March 1-9.
The roster, which includes two goaltenders, seven defenders, and 13 forwards, consists of players competing in the NCAA and American Collegiate Hockey Association. The United States will be fielding a women’s hockey team at the World University Games for the fifth time.
“This shows a tremendous amount of success for our program,” said head coach Kat Hannah. “With the high percentage of Canadians on the team, we have seven Americans on the team and three of them made it to represent their country.”
Williams, a native of Virginia, Minnesota, is in her third season with the Lynx. So far this season, Williams has scored 18 goals and recorded 15 assists for 33 points in 23 games. She has recorded six power-play goals and three game winning goals.
“I am so grateful to be named to this team,” said Williams. “It is such a privilege to represent my country and it will be a terrific challenge that will make me a better player. I was surprised to be picked for the team and it’s a tremendous opportunity. I already play with some of the best players in the league every day so to be chosen for this team is such an honor.”
Stone, a freshman goalie from Killingsworth, Connecticut, has been busy rewriting the Lynx record books in her first year of intercollegiate competition. Stone has recorded eight shutouts for the Lady Lynx this season, the highest single-season total in program history. She has also accumulated a record of 12-2-3 with a 1.26 goals against average and a .941 save percentage in 19 games.
“I was speechless when I was named to the team,” said Stone. “It has always been a goal and dream of mine to represent the United States and it’s nice to see the effort paying off. It will be a unique opportunity to face an excellent level of opposition and seeing harder shots makes it more fun and will make me a better goaltender. I’m very excited and hope to win gold for the USA!”
Stelling, a junior defensemen from Santa Cruz, California, is the second Lady Lynx defenseman to be named to the University Games squad. In 2017, Alex Brown proudly represented her school and nation at the 28th World University Games in Almaty, Kazakhstan.
So far this season, Stelling has scored nine goals and chipped in with eight assists for 17 points in 22 games played. She has also recorded five power-play goals along with one game winning goal in addition to be the third leading scorer on the Lynx team.
“I’m grateful and honored to be selected and to have this amazing opportunity to play for my country,” said Stelling.’’
This story was originally published February 27, 2019 at 3:44 PM.
