Oickle looking to go out on top.
The Mount Allison Hockey Mounties lucked out when captain Lauren Oickle opted to come back for her fifth year of eligibility, but getting her to stay for the whole season took a bit of unplanned and negative help.
Having made the decision to return for her fifth year of eligibility, Oickle had planned to only play the first semester of the season before graduating at Christmas. Along with the feeling of leaving her team hanging, a shoulder injury, which occurred in the fourth game of the regular season, helped to derail those plans.
“I decided to come back for the second semester simply because it was too hard to leave the team half way through,” says Oickle. “I also didn’t want to leave on a bad note considering I missed nine games before Christmas.”
The Moncton native has been an Atlantic University Sport (AUS) second-team all-star the past two seasons, and has been the team captain during that time as well, becoming only the second hockey Mountie to be a three-year captain.
“Three years of being captain is definitely an honour and I am so glad to have been a part of an excellent program,” Oickle says.
Majoring in Commerce (Marketing/Management) with a minor in Geography in progress, Oickle has scored thirty-three points including twenty-four goals in her Mountie career.
Oickle says the key to balancing her academics with her sport comes down to time management.
“I was fairly used to it (when I got here) because ever since I could remember I had one or two sports going on at a time,” Oickle recalls. “We rarely get weekends off during the season so for us Friday nights are about how much work we can get done instead of a night to relax. That comes with self-discipline and all athletes need to have it to be successful in their academics.”
A fan of the Montreal Canadiens, Oickle says the small atmosphere at Mt. A and in Sackville is beneficial to athletes competing here.
“The school is small so it’s awesome that a lot of the athletes know each other and support each other in their respective sports,” comments the team’s leading goal scorer this season. “Overall, Mt. A has a solid group of people all working together to accomplish the goal of being successful in academics and in athletics and that has been the most apparent thing in my five years here.”
Oickle also paid tribute to the large number of Sackville supporters who constantly show up in good numbers for Mountie sporting events.
The two-time team Most Valuable Player will end at least the home portion of her hockey career this weekend when the Mounties play host to the Subway AUS Womens’ Hockey Championships from Thursday to Sunday. While she recognizes it is bittersweet, she is excited about the opportunity to host the championships in her final season.
“It’s amazing for me as a graduating player to have the playoffs here on home ice. I think being comfortable and having everything right here at our convenience is what I will value most about playing in our home rink.”
Oickle and the Mounties take to the ice Thursday night at 6:00 pm against the St FX X-Women. A win would give the Mounties a day off before playing the UPEI Panthers on Saturday, while a loss would have the Mounties-Panthers matchup on Friday.
