The Pioneers come out on top

In front of a crowd of more than 19,000 people, the Hill-Murray Pioneers rose to the challenge and knocked off powerhouse Edina to win the 2008 Minnesota High School League Boys State Hockey Tournament. I'm going to be honest and say that I was rooting for Hornets, but in the end, the best team won. The Pioneers (27-3-1) completely dominated all three games of the tournament they played in and deserved to come out victorious. Although many people were hoping to see an Edina/Roseau match up in the finals, the game between the Hornets and the Pioneers was one that many enjoyed. After dispatching Lakeville South in the quarterfinals and taking care of previously undefeated Roseau in the semis, Hill-Murray came into the championship ready to take down Edina (28-3). Here is a recap of Hill-Murray's remarkable title run:

State Quarterfinals-Hill-Murray Pioneers vs. Lakeville South Cougars (14-14-3): The game started off nicely for the underdog Cougars. Lakeville was quick to counter Hill's speed with spectacular passing and a great back-check. The game remained tied until the Pioneer's Ryan Furne scored with exactly 3 minutes remaining in the period. Once the second period started, the game had a whole different tempo. Hill-Murray came out firing from all angles, but Cougars goalie Hakan Yumusaklar stood tall and made save after save. At the 12:24 mark of the period, Hill struck again, and this time it was Dan Cecka with the goal (with me cheering against Hill, it's a good thing Cecka's dad moved in between periods so he wasn't sitting directly behind me like he was in the first period). Lakeville kept it close again until time was running out in the second and Furne struck again. The third period showcased Hill just keeping the puck neutral in order to preserve the shutout for goalie Joe Phillippi. The game ended without any additional scoring with the final tally 3-0.

State Semifinals-Hill-Murray Pioneers vs. Roseau Rams (29-2): This is a game virtually nobody outside of the Hill faithful saw coming. The Roseau Rams, defending State AA champions and undefeated this season up to this point, had been the front-runners for the entire year. With Mr. Hockey finalist Aaron Ness back on their blueline, Roseau was supposed to be able to sedate the Pioneers fast, aggressive attack. Roseau did anything but what was expected. The game was fairly close at the beginning, but Hill was the team that was creating most of the pressure. Soon that pressure got to the Rams and Hill-Murray broke a scoreless tie when Nick Widing scored to put the Pioneers up by 1. It took only 1:40 for Hill to shoot one past Roseau goalie Mike Lee yet again, this time it was Furne who scored for the third time in this tournament. The game was manageable for Roseau at that point, and going into the locker room, a two goal lead by the Pioneers seemed like nothing after just one period. It took Hill only 2:40 into the second period for them to put the dagger in the heart of fans everywhere. Dave Cascalenda was the lucky recipient of the third goal scored by the Pioneers, and after Roseau struggled to score on 5 combined powerplays in the first two periods, the wind was really knocked out of them. The Rams never recovered and eventually the game ended with a huge upset with Hill beating Roseau 6-2.

State Finals-Hill-Murray Pioneers vs. Edina Hornets (28-3): Even with the mystique of an Edina/Roseau match up out of the question, there was still a record crowd on hand to watch the Pioneers take on the Hornets. As had been the theme throughout the tournament, Hill got the game started quickly when they took the lead just two and a half minutes into the first period (you guessed it, Ryan Furne yet again). After the majority of the first had been played fairly evenly, Edina goalie Derrick Caschetta had a minor letdown after a solid period. With seconds ticking off of the clock in the first, Ryan Furne carried the puck through the neutral zone and shot of a wrister with just one second left on the clock. Caschetta got handcuffed by the shot and Furne had his 5th goal of the tournament with time expiring in the first. Although disappointing, that fluke goal didn't seem to get to Edina. The second period was played pretty evenly although Edina outshot Hill-Murray 15-4. The score remained the same at 2-0 until the 4:36 mark of the third when the Pioneers shut the door on Edina and Lou Metcalf put one behind Caschetta to diminish any hope for the Hornets. In front of nearly 20,000 people, the Hill-Murray Pioneers had captured their first state title since 1991.

It was truly a great tournament to be part of. The Minnesota State Hockey tournament is something that gets more and more exciting every year. It really is one of the premier high school tournaments in the country, and it showcases numerous players who are destined for professional hockey. I have to mention that my Alma-mater, the Woodbury Royals, played a great tournament and ended up with a fifth place finish in the state. Here are the results from the rest of the tournament including the Class A bracket:

AA:

1st-Hill-Murray Pioneers

2nd-Edina Hornets

3rd-Benilde St. Margaret's Red Knights

4th-Roseau Rams

5th-Woodbury Royals

6th-Blaine Bengals

7th-Lakeville Cougars/Cloquet-Esko-Carlton Lumberjacks

A:

1st-St. Thomas Academy Cadets

2nd-Duluth-Marshall Hilltoppers

3rd-Warroad Warriors

4th-St. Cloud Cathedral Crusaders

5th-Little Falls Flyers

6th-Mankato West Scarlets

7th-The Blake School Bears/Litchfield-Dassel-Cokato Dragons