Blaine and Hill-Murray meet at 6 p.m. Friday in the semifinals, a rematch of a 4-4 tie on Jan. 26 that Pioneers coach Bill Schafhauser called pivotal to his team's growth.
Blaine took a 3-0 lead in the second period and looked poised for a lopsided victory.
"We had a tough start against them," Schafhauser said. "Quite frankly, they were taking it to us pretty good. And then we got a goal and we realized we could match that intensity and speed."
Hill-Murray erupted, scoring four consecutive goals and holding a 4-3 lead with less than four minutes to play. Blaine's Emily Brown tied the score, but that didn't diminish the Pioneers' satisfaction.
"For us it was kind of a turning point in the season," Schafhauser said. "We saw we could battle with anybody."
From ice to behind bench
First-year coach Sami Reber was part of the first Edina girls' hockey team to make it to state in 2009. They finished third and two times as the runner-up before she graduated in 2011. She was a top-10 Ms. Hockey finalist and went on to play for Harvard.
"It's a little different being on the other side of things, but I just remember how awesome of a thing this was to be participating in, and just to not take it for granted," Reber said.
The tournament is all about having fun and playing loose, she said.
