UND Fighting Sioux Hockey: Danny Kristo has unfinished business

Image via WikipediaIt's stories like this that make me giddy about the Fighting Sioux's prospects for next season. I am excited that Danny Kristo is coming back to UND for another season and that he has something to prove and some unfinished business. I really think that Kristo will only get better being one of the "main guys" in the line-up for the Fighting Sioux next season.

LOU BABIARZ;Bismarck Tribune Sports Editor | ----- Danny Kristo has accomplished a lot during his two seasons on the University of North Dakota hockey team. But it was unfinished business that caused Kristo to return to UND for his junior season instead of turning pro.

"I just feel like I haven't done everything in college that I needed to," said Kristo, who was in Bismarck on Tuesday as part of the Fighting Sioux Caravan. "I still have a lot left that I can accomplish myself and for the team, too.

"I just thought it was the right place for me," he said.

Even though the Sioux lost a strong group of seniors, many of their top underclassmen will be returning - including Kristo, Ben Blood and Aaron Dell.

That helped Kristo, who was a second-round pick of the Montreal Canadiens in 2008, choose to forestall going pro.

"It helped make my decision easier with some friends coming back," Kristo said. "I just went over my options and felt that the team's got a lot to offer next year with some of the guys coming back. We've got a lot of underrated guys that are going to be stepping up into big roles next year. I think we have a real good shot of doing a lot of big things."

The Sioux are coming off a season in which their only goal was winning the national championship.

UND accomplished many other things along the way, including winning the MacNaughton Cup as the WCHA's regular-season champion and their second straight Broadmoor Trophy as the playoff champ.

They did advance to the Frozen Four, but were upset by Michigan in the semis.

"Our season ended short of what our goal was," UND coach Dave Hakstol said. "We didn't mince words in terms of what we wanted to accomplish last season. But you have to put that season in back of us."

It was a tumultuous season for Kristo. After winning the WCHA's rookie of the year award in 2009-10, Kristo had just one goal in his first 20 games.

Though he eventually regained his scoring touch - finishing with eight goals and 20 assists in 34 games - he missed six weeks with a severe case of frostbite.

"It was like a rollercoaster, a lot of ups and downs," Kristo said. " I had kind of a slow start, a little snakebit there for a while. ... After Christmas I really picked up my game. It's too bad I got hurt, because I was kind of on a roll there, but I just tried to pick up where I left off."

Kristo piled up 23 points in his final 16 games, and he's hopeful that hot streak carries over into next season. The Sioux will need him to produce.

UND should be solid in goal, with Dell, Brad Eidsness and Tate Maris returning, and Hakstol likes his defense. The forwards will be a mix of vets and newcomers.