HighSchoolHockeyForums.com

!!!CONGRATS to Jenna Kilpatrick of New Prague!!! It has come to my attention that Jenna has verbally committed to the Ohio State D1 college program. My understanding is that she will be under scholarship at a great institution that is known for outstanding academics and will start in their highly acclaimed Fisher School of Business prior to the possibility of a law degree. I'm certain she was rightfully courted by an amazing list of schools that offered very generous scholarship opportunities. Jenna is an outstanding student as well, and it's great to see the combination of athletic & academic considerations in her decision.

I had the chance to come into contact with Jenna & her family through off-season AAA hockey. She's easily one of the top players to come out of MN and should be the early favorite for Ms Hockey. She also currently is #9 all-time in scoring, and could likely move into the top few all-time this season: http://www.mnpuck.com/top_career_scorers.htm Jenna is quite humble in spite of her amazing athletic & academic talent, and I know she's appreciative of all the people that have plowed the road for women's ice hockey ahead of her including her mentors, coaches, teammates and opponents.

I'm honestly NOT looking forward to possibly seeing her New Prague team come up against mine in section play! But, I'm most certainly looking forward to watching her play this last HS season and beyond in college next year.

Also, her NP team along with Roseville, Sibley, Edina, & Simley will take part in a scrimmage fest that first Sat (Nov 4) 8AM-12PM @ Vets in Inver Grove: http://www.bgoski.com/simley/girls/SimS ... 1-4-06.htm

Congratulations to Jenna, Shannon & Sandy (assuming accuracy). OSU got themselves three great players. I always enjoy the opportunity to watch the Minnesota talent play in the WCHA.

I will say that I think I have another "favorite" WCHA team. I know Keys is out there too, but I'm uncertain of what other MN are out there... Skarda too still???

this is an Ohio State team that just lost back-to-back 3-2 games to #1 Wisconsin I believe this past weekend...

Skarda is a senior this season. Speaking of Keys...in last seasons games vs. Minnesota, Keys was a formidable force in all their games. Really seemed to have turned it up several notches over previous season. One of their best players I thought. Wouldn't surprise me if we see still more improvement from her this season.

The one thing I remember about Keys from the days when she used to terrorize my tri-metro teams was she had amazing hands. She has a little sister that has always been a great player, but I started to realize this summer that she too has similar strengths stickhandling wise.

Sucks for our Gophers, but congrats to Keys & Co. @ Ohio State!

http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincitie ... 875680.htm

Posted on Sun, Oct. 29, 2006

Buckeyes shock U

From news services

Former Cretin-Derham Hall standout Erin Keys scored both Ohio State goals as the Buckeyes defeated Minnesota 2-1 on Saturday at Columbus, Ohio, to earn a split of their women's Western Collegiate Hockey Association series.

Keys opened the scoring with a goal at 4:42 of the first period.

Gigi Marvin tied the score with a goal at 17:04 of the third period. The sophomore forward tipped in a slap shot by Anya Miller for her fifth goal of the season. Brittany Francis started the play when she passed the puck out from the slot to Miller.

Ohio State (3-5-0, 1-5-0 WCHA) regained the lead with Keys' second goal, with 1:08 remaining.

The No. 6-ranked Gophers (4-3-1, 3-2-1) pulled goalie Brittony Chartier for an extra attacker but were unable to convert.

Ohio State, which has the nation's No. 1 power-play unit, was unable to score in 13 opportunities with a man advantage.

The Gophers play No. 5 Minnesota-Duluth next Friday and Saturday at Ridder Arena.

http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincitie ... 208506.htm

High School
Posted on Sun, Dec. 10, 2006email thisprint thisreprint or license this
Growing the game
Jenna Kilpatrick has applied what she has learned from boys hockey to help New Prague's girls program flourish.
BY RICK SHEFCHIK
Pioneer Press
Jenna Kilpatrick always has been inspired by the career scoring totals of Minnesota girls hockey pioneers Renee Curtin and Natalie Darwitz, and by the end of this season, the New Prague High School senior likely will place her name between theirs.

Kilpatrick, who began the season with 402 points, should surpass Darwitz's total of 468 and move into second place on the state's all-time list behind Curtin's 522 points.

Yet Kilpatrick has drawn her inspiration from the boys game.

"I notice (the best female players), the moves they do, and incorporate them into my game, but I've always been more interested in the guys game," the high-scoring forward said. "Women are great players and deserve accolades, but I watch more guys hockey than I do women. Both my older brothers played hockey."

"I played with her brother Mike, and her brother Jimmy plays at Colorado College," New Prague girls coach Dan Gullickson said. "When they played street hockey out in the driveway, it helped. They've taught her well, but she's worked hard and learned a lot on her own."

Kilpatrick began playing with the Shakopee girls hockey program when she was 8 because New Prague didn't have a girls hockey program. When she was 10, she switched to playing with the boys in New Prague, and much of her style was developed during those three seasons.

"(The boys) definitely play at a different game speed, and that helps out," Kilpatrick said. "It creates toughness; when you play peewees, you learn to keep your head up real quick."

Now it is Kilpatrick's opponents who need to keep their heads up. She plays as physical a style as the girls rules allow. Her coach says she is tough along the boards and tough to knock off the puck.

"She learned how to use her upper body and legs along the boards," Gullickson said. "She's not a finesse player; she goes to the net with power and beats the goalie with a hard shot. She's not going to dipsy-doodle around anybody."

"When I'm in the corners, I make sure I pin them and put them up to the glass and put my body in front of theirs," Kilpatrick said. "I'm not afraid in open ice to step up and let them hit me. Whatever it takes to turn the puck over."

She enjoys the freedom of playing summer hockey, where hard contact is not going to automatically be called an illegal check, as it usually is in girls hockey. You'd think Kilpatrick would prefer to play boys high school rules year-round, but she says she prefers the girls rules.

"I like finesse without the check," she said. "Checking took away from (the NHL), and now they're back to calling more stuff. I think the guys game is a great game, but the NHL is better now. You see the skill players play their game, and that's fun to watch."

Kilpatrick has been playing varsity at New Prague since seventh grade, watching the program rise from inept to a state power.

"We had some very, very new hockey players," Gullickson said.

The Trojans scored only 15 goals the season before Kilpatrick joined varsity; she scored 37 points in her first season as the team won four games. New Prague won nine games in Kilpatrick's eighth-grade season and 21 when she was a freshman.

New Prague made it to the state tournament last season with 21 victories, and though the Trojans lost three consecutive games early this season, they defeated perennial power South St. Paul 4-2 on Nov. 28 with Kilpatrick notching a hat trick and assisting on the other goal.

Gullickson gives Kilpatrick a great deal of the credit for the program's improvement.

"She's really raised the bar for the program," he said. "We have individuals who learned from her, but she's been a huge asset the last six years.

"More intriguing, I think, is her loyalty and commitment to our town and to our program. Because of what she's done, I'm hoping it will keep us successful and keep kids younger than her in the community. Since Jen's been here, we haven't lost anybody (to other schools)."

Kilpatrick will be flattered if some young players around the state take inspiration from her accomplishments, as she has from others before her.

"I was always motivated by seeing those (scoring records)," she said. "I told myself, 'I can do that; I can do that,' and I keep pushing myself. It will be great if someone sees my totals and they keep pushing themselves. That would be awesome and totally help the game."