By Tara Sowle
UWRF Sports Information

Junior goalie Amber Lindner started playing goalie when she was in the 7th grade.   "There was no girl goalie that played full time, so I tried it and I was good," said Lindner. And she's only gotten better.

Lindner came to UWRF because, "I wanted to play hockey. My high school coach new Joe (Cranston) and I knew the Falcons had a good program and were a good team," said Lindner.

From the beginning of Lindner's career with the Falcons she started putting up big numbers. She played in 11 games her freshman year and had an impressive 9-1 record. She had a 1.26 goals against average and a .939 saves percentage. She finished in the top 10 in the NCAA final statistics, finishing fourth in winning percentage, sixth in goals against average and seventh in saves percentage.   Lindner was also named to the WIAC Scholastic Honor Roll.  

"Amber has the ability to give us a chance at winning any game. It's nice for a team to know that they have that strength," said Falcon Coach Joe Cranston.

After an impressive first year, Lindner didn't coast, but worked hard to get better. She appeared in 10 games and had her first shutout last year. She had a 2.08 goals against average and a .911 saves percentage. She was named to the NCHA All-Academic team and to the WIAC Scholastic Honor Roll. Her contribution helped round out a tough final line of defense as she shared ice time with goalie Marlene Yaeger, who holds several records for the Falcons. Lindner holds a few records of her own.   In 2004 Lindner finished with a 1.26 goals against average which is the best ever in a single season by a Falcon.

"Amber is a hard worker on the ice, and she has worked very hard off the ice both during the season and during the off-season to get to the level that she is at right now," said Cranston. So far this year Lindner has started and played in every game and has a record of 11-6 with a 2.05 goals against average and a .922 saves percentage. She is 12th in saves percentage and 13th in goals against average in the NCAA Div. III.

When the other team scores, Lindner takes it especially hard. "There's a lot more pressure because there is only one of me. I take it more personal when the other team scores. I think, we might now not win."

That mentality has pushed Lindner, a Moorhead, Minn., native, to constantly be improving her game. "Amber really enjoys the game, and is a true competitor. She came into this season as the dominant goalie, but she's constantly working on improving her performance," said Cranston.

Lindner says this year she's working harder on getting out of the crease and challenging the shooter. "It freaks people out when I come at them," said Lindner.

Lindner is majoring in communicative disorders and is a member of the National Student Speech Language Hearing Association and plans to go to grad school after graduating from UWRF. She also hopes to coach hockey. "I'd like to coach at the high school level because at that age they're good and you can still mold them."

Amber Lindner