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55| O akville B eaver | T hursday,O ctober 4,2018 insidehalton.com It was just the fourth game of Kristin O'Neill's NCAA career, so the fact that she was being sent out to kill a penalty in a 1-0 game was telling in how quickly she had earned her coach's trust. Doug Derraugh was well aware of his new recruit'saware of his new recruit'sa two-way ability, but in a 15- second sequence, the Cor- nell coach would get a win- dow into what he could ex- pect over the next four years. Early in the penalty kill, O'Neill intercepted a pass at her own blue line and broke in alone on the Union goalie. Her shot was stopped and a Union de- fender grabbed the re-fender grabbed the re-f bound and turned up ice. O'Neill did not give up on the play, though. She quick- ly turned, stripped the de- fender of the puck at thefender of the puck at thef faceoff circle, went in alonefaceoff circle, went in alonef again and this time made no mistake to extend Cor- nell's lead. It was the first of her NCAA-leading five short- handed goals she scored in her rookie season. "Some players enjoy be- ing out on the power play but they don't love the pen- alty kill," Derraugh says. "She absolutely loves the penalty kill." O'Neill has always been a responsible player who could be counted on in de- fensive situations, but dur-fensive situations, but dur-f ing her junior career she only managed three short- handed goals in 123 games with the Stoney Creek Sa- bres. At Cornell, she said the focus on certain ele- ments of the game in prac- tice really helped her in creating offence, even when shorthanded. "That part of the game is huge," the Loyola grad says. "There are so many more practices and a lot more time on the ice. We practice so much more on the PK. I've learned a lot more. In practices in high school, you didn't get those opportunities." . . . . . It was a mid-January road game last year where St. Lawrence had all the momentum as the second period ended. The Saints scored in the final minute of the period to make it 2-0 and Cornell was assessed a delay-of-game penalty fol- lowing the goal. "We were losing when we went into the locker room and we had a penalty to start the third," O'Neill said. "Our coach was say- ing, 'We need to get a goal early.'" Nineteen seconds into the third period, O'Neill an- swered the call. Picking off a pass at her own blue line, she raced in alone to cut the lead to 2-1. "When teams go on the power play, they have the attitude that it's all offence. They have forwards back on defence, but they still have to defend. When Kris- tin is out there (on the pen- alty kill) she's not looking to ice it, she's looking to score. She relishes those moments." Her fourth shorty of the season set a new Cornell single-season record. She would add a fifth two weeks later when she forced a turnover behind the oppo- sition net, carried the puck out front and deked the goalie. The made her the first freshman to score fivefirst freshman to score fivef in a season since U.S. Olym- pian Monique Lamoureux 10 years earlier. With 14 goals and 26With 14 goals and 26W points in 31 games, O'Neill earned the Ivy League rookie of the year. . . . . . Career records are usu- ally something a player is shooting for in their final season. Yet, in January of her sophomore year, O'Neill scored her seventh shorthanded goal to be- come Cornell's all-time leader (she upped that total to nine by the end of the sea- son), surpassing a player who, like O'Neill, is an Oak- ville native who played her junior hockey in Stoney Creek and was named the Ivy League's top rookie. Like Brianne Jenner, O'Neill added an Ivy League player of year award when she followedaward when she followeda up rookie year with team- bests in goals (20), assists (21), points (41) and plus/ minus (+26) last season. Though they share the same hometown, O'Neill didn't really know Jenner until she worked at the two- time Olympic medallist's Oakville hockey camp this summer. The 20-year-old got to spend more time with her last month when she was invited to her senior national team camp. "It was an awesome ex- perience," O'Neill said. "It's tough competition, but it's a chance to compare your- self with the highest- ranked players in the coun- try. It's inspiring seeing how hard they work and how skilled they are." O'Neill has already built a strong international resu- mé. She won two silver medals at the World Un- der-18 Championships where she was one of the team's top offensive threats. She has since grad- uated to Canada's develop- ment team where she's played in the Nations Cup the past two years. And with Derraugh be- ing a member of the nation- al team coaching staff, O'Neill has a chance to make an impression every day. . . . . . O'Neill scored her re- cord-setting shorthanded goal into an empty net. Technically, it was the first time she had done so. Dur- ing her freshman year, with her opponents enjoying a 6- on-3 advantage, she blocked a shot and chased down the puck. Just as she was about to shoot the puck into the empty net, she was taken down by two defend- ers. The referee awarded her the goal. "She has incredible speed, but it's her willing- ness to do the little things to be successful, to work in the corners, in front of the net - she plays a lot bigger than she is - that's exactly why she was a co-captain as a sophomore, and now a ju- nior," Derraugh said. "That's one of those quali- ties that rubs off when they see a player with that skill and talent level doing those things to win hockey games." Even better is the Cor- nell coach never has to wor- ry about dialing back her ice time even though she's a staple on both special teams. A provincial cham- pion 800-metre runner in high school, "she's one of the fittest players I've seen," Darraugh says. While O'Neill arrived in the NCAA with the quali- ties it often takes players a year or two to develop, she is not content. Her experi- ence at the national team camp this summer has only provided more motivation as Cornell enters the sea- son ranked sixth nationally in the pre-season polls."It makes me want to make my team better. We can win the ECAC and make the Final Four. That's within reach," she says. "I want to be a re- sponsible two-way player and be a leader at Cornell. I want to strive to be as good a player as I can be." SELLING HERSELF SHORT (HANDED) Just entering her junior season at Cornell, Oakville's Kristin O'Neill is already the school's all-time leader in shorthanded goals after leading the NCAA in each of her first two seasons. Her ability to score, and defend, in any situation has earned her Ivy League rookie and player of the year honours. Tim McKinney/Cornell Athletics HERB GARBUTT hgarbutt@metroland.com COMMUNITY LOYOLA GRAD ALWAYS A THREAT TO SCORE, EVEN WHEN KILLING PENALTIES