By Tara Sowle
UWRF Sports Information

Lindsay O’Keefe’s hard work mentality is making her a big contributor for this year’s UWRF women’s hockey team.

“She is a hard worker, and has really improved from her freshman to sophomore year and from her sophomore to her junior year,” said Falcon Coach Joe Cranston.

During her freshman year, she helped take the Falcons to the Frozen Four and was the team’s leading scorer. Last year she finished fourth in scoring for the Falcons with 14 goals and 24 points. She also earned NCHA honorable mention in 2004. This year she will be looked for to be a leading scorer for the team. O’Keefe also finds time to participates in intramural softball and floor hockey.

That hard work ethic is paying off for her on and off the ice.

Academically, O’Keefe was named to both the NCHA All-Academic team and to the WIAC Scholastic Honor Roll for her work in the classroom. O’Keefe is not feeling stressed about her work schedule, however, “Playing hockey has actually helped me organize my time because it forces you to do your homework in your spare time,” O’Keefe explained. She is used to a hectic schedule, however, she participated in softball, lacrosse, soccer, and hockey during her high school days and made the varsity women’s hockey team when she was in eighth grade. In the off season she played for the Minnesota Selects, Junior Stars, and played in the Maroon and Gold series.

So far in 2004-05 she has scored three goals and had two assists for five points. She is third in scoring for the Falcons and has one game-winning goal.

She started playing hockey when she was 11 years old, in her home town of Roseville, Minn., where her dad, Tom, coached her for her first two years of competitive play. Her brother was also a hockey player.
With her strong commitment to excellence, she is setting great examples on and off the ice, but O’Keefe is not taking all the credit. “We have five (upperclassmen) who set great examples and are vocal leaders,” O‚Keefe stated. “We have good chemistry and freshman are stepping up. We have a shot at nationals if we can get it together.”

The biggest transition O’Keefe faced when she went from competing from the high school level to the collegiate level was the level of strength her teammates and opponents had. Her advice for anyone making the leap from high school athletics to college competition is to “lift weights and get stronger!”

Lindsay O'Keefe