As any good Buckeyes fan will tell you, letting great in-state players escape the state to join a rival school can completely change the course of the rivalry.
Just ask John Cooper how he feels about Desmond Howard and Charles Woodson, two Ohio natives that joined the Michigan Wolverines and repeatedly haunted the Buckeyes.
Fortunately enough for the Ohio State women’s ice hockey team, they currently find themselves on the side that is benefiting from an out-of-state player.
Junior forward Erin Keys, from St. Paul Minnesota, is the Buckeyes’ leading scorer this season, with 13 goals and 18 assists for 31 points.
Keys often saves her best for the rival Minnesota Gophers, but you won’t hear her say that playing her hometown team gives her any extra motivation.
“I don’t know about extra motivation because I should be motivated for every game,” Keys said.
While every player wants to do their best and win every game, coach Jackie Barto feels that some games might mean more to a player personally than others.
“No doubt about it,” Barto said. “You always want to win and perform your best, but playing in front of your home crowd, and I know she had a lot of family and friends there (at the games in Minnesota this weekend), you want it to go your way and there might be a little extra motivation to use there.”
Junior defenseman Tessa Bonhomme said that if she were in Keys’ shoes, she’d feel a little something different playing her hometown team.
“For her I’m sure (the games mean something). If I got to play in front of my hometown and friends, and maybe some ex-teammates, I’d definitely have an extra bounce in my step,” Bonhomme said.
Keys has thrived in front of her family and friends, as the Buckeyes have found success against the Gophers as of late, splitting the last four series between the schools, with Keys repeatedly playing a significant role in the outcome.
She scored the winning goal with 1:08 left in regulation earlier this season in Columbus versus the Gophers, and also scored the game-winning goal in overtime last season.
“It’s awesome, it’s such a great feeling,” Keys said of her personal success against the Gophers.
It is the team success that means the most to her, however, and the Buckeyes have been proving themselves against top competition such as Minnesota.
“I definitely think we play better against better teams,” Keys said. “When we play Minnesota or Wisconsin, we usually bring our ‘A’ game. We know we’re going to go up there and play our best hockey because we’re playing against a team that’s very good. We just get excited to play teams that are really good.”
The Buckeyes success against the top teams can be attributed in part to Keys, who has done more than just light up the scoreboard against Minnesota. She’s been a solid and important player throughout the season for the team. As the Buckeyes gear up for a title run in the second half of the season, they’ll be relying on the Minnesota native to continue to carry a heavy offensive load as the Buckeyes chase Minnesota in the league standings.
“She’s having a great year,” Barto said. “She really picked up the scoring with losing Jana (Harrigan, last year’s leading scorer) to graduation. She’s one of our key players, and we need her to do that to be successful. I’m glad she’s accepted the responsibility and the challenge of taking on more offensive responsibility.”
Jon Wagner can be reached at [email protected].
