Prior to beginning her coaching career, she was a college ice hockey player for the Providence Friars women's ice hockey team and was honored as the ECAC Player of the Year in 1989.[5] She was then head coach for eight seasons at Northeastern Huskies from 1992 to 2000, winning the ECAC coach of the year 1994. In 2000, Linstad became the women's ice hockey coach at the University of Connecticut, coaching the Connecticut Huskies for thirteen seasons. On February 13, 2010, Linstad obtained her 300th win as a head coach, with a 4–1 over her alma mater, the Providence Friars.[3] Linstad abruptly resigned from her coaching position at the University of Connecticut on March 13, 2013, after two poor seasons.[6] In 2016, she would be awarded the Women's Hockey Founders Award by the American Hockey Coaches Association for her contributions to the growth and development of women's ice hockey in the United States.[5]
On January 29, 2016, Lindstad was named as head coach of the Connecticut Whale of the National Women's Hockey League.[4] She left the team after the 2016–17 season.[8]
Controversy
A lawsuit filed against the University of Connecticut alleges Linstad dismissed a female hockey player from the team for not being stable enough following an alleged on-campus sexual assault by a male hockey player in 2011.[9][10]