News
Briefly
Calendar of Events
Commentary
Opinions
Sports
Diversions
World News
Login
Letter Submission
Search
Archive
Publishing Policy
Classifieds
Mail Subscriptions
St. Cloud State University
College Publisher
Home
>
Sports
Huskies pick up a Gopher
U of M transfer Kristy Oonincx could bring SCSU women's hockey team out of the depths
By Ben Birnell
Published:
Thursday, March 6, 2003
What's one team's loss is another team's gain.
Last Tuesday, the SCSU women's hockey team gained some help that could improve their future as University of Minnesota star Kristy Oonincx signed a release form and said she plans to transfer to SCSU to continue her collegiate career.
The sophomore from Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan played in 24 games for the Gophers this season, scoring 14 goals and notching 11 assists for 25 points with the team. However, Oonincx (pronounced "Oh-nix") ran into a little trouble with Golden Gopher head coach Laura Halldorson. Halldorson suspended the forward indefinitely for "conduct detrimental to the team" on Feb. 6.
Because Oonincx is transferring between WCHA schools she will have to forego her 2003-04 season, but will be eligible to return to play in the 2004-05 season when she'll be a junior. However, the issue with Halldorson has been resolved and presented to the media. Not much has been said beyond that. Oonincx said she hasn't seen her former team since the suspension, but said it shouldn't be a problem when she sees them again.
"Everyone has been respectful toward the situation," she said. "Any problems I had here (at Minnesota) shouldn't be a problem."
Personal friend and Husky freshman Randie Jelinski said the situation was just about some people at Minnesota being what she calls "catty" and Oonincx didn't want to have to deal with conflict.
"She's used to being liked by everyone and likes to avoid conflict. She's not used to having problems with other people," Jelinski said.
Jelinski went on to say that as a person, there's no one better than Oonincx. She said that Oonincx is a fun, bubbly person and easy to get along with.
"She's a great person all around," Jelinski said. "As a player, she's a leader and a natural goal scorer. She knows what she's doing on the ice and she's just an awesome player."
If Oonincx's prep career and her first two years at the U of M are any indication, she should be a welcome addition to the Husky team. She accumulated 498 points in her prep career as a member of the Notre Dame Hounds in Canada and was a Western Shield All-Star.
During her freshman season with the Gophers, Oonincx was fourth on the team with 38 points and lead the team with a plus/minus rating of 41. She had a three-point game against the Huskies in her last appearance against them. She also had five-point and seven-point weekends against SCSU at the end of the 2001-02 season.
So why would a great player like Oonincx choose SCSU over a school for example, like the University of Minnesota-Duluth or even another school that has a rich tradition in hockey? Oonincx answers that without problem.
"I have a very close relationship with a lot of people in Minnesota," she said. "I didn't want to go too far away from everyone. Also, I had a great time playing with Randie when we played together and I also got close to (SCSU assistant head coach David) Prokop when he was recruiting me a few years ago."
Oonincx's biggest challenge now looks to be trying to help the SCSU program pull together a winning season after the Huskies finished 11-23-0 overall this season. Granted the 2003-04 season could be very different, Oonincx is coming from a team that won the WCHA title and lost in the NCAA semifinals last year to a program that has lost twice as much as it has won the past two years.
"It's something I really don't think about," she said. "I'm just going to try and be a leader, work hard like the other girls, and try to score some goals. If I can help turn the SCSU program into a winner, it would mean more to me to leave my name on something like that than to win a championship."
Privacy Policy
Network Advertising
Article Syndication
