OSWEGO, N.Y. —Simone Bednarik of the Oswego State Women’s Ice Hockey team has officially made the Slovakian team roster for the upcoming FISU World University winter games that will be taking place next month in Lake Placid.
Bednarik was chosen last year to represent Slovakia at the Olympic qualifiers in Sweden, an honor that many people wish for. The sophomore from Elmhurst, IL is having another solid year for the Lakers, having half of her total points from last season in seven less games.
After speaking with Coach Digby, he had nothing but praise for the sophomore forward. Digby described Bednarik as being “consistently one of the hardest workers”, which helps make the program better. Coach Digby went on to say that Bednarik is “fun to have around” and “fun to watch on the ice”. We asked Coach Digby what it meant to have a player like Bednarik on the team, in which he replied with even more praise for the sophomore forward. Digby was excited to see Bednarik get “a little extra push here from the campus”. Digby went on to discuss the team as a whole, saying that “for players, on the female side, to be able to get a little bit of support and love like this is pretty awesome”.
Bednarik was happy to hear the things that Coach Digby had said about her, stating that it was “nice that [coach] notices the extra work we put in”. After that, Bednarik went on to say that “it’s not just me”, and gave credit to the entire team, discussing how the team has goals they want to achieve and understanding the amount of work required to accomplish their goals. When asked about representing Slovakia, her home country, Bednarik had nothing but love and appreciation. Bednarik has friends on the team she rarely gets to see, so being able to play with them makes the game a lot more fun. Bednarik discussed how she is very thankful to be chosen to represent the team, given the current circumstances. The team is going to be coached by a new coach this year, and Simone is excited to see how things go in January.
The SUNY Oswego family along with everyone at Laker Athletics is very proud of Simone and wish her all the luck this upcoming January in her national team’s run at the winter games. The Lake Placid 2023 World University Games Ice Hockey preliminary round tournaments will be held in Potsdam and Canton, with the playoffs at the Olympic Center in Lake Placid. Bednarik will open up her play on January 11th against Canada at 8pm in Potsdam.
Watch the FISU University Games HERE.
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