Dean Spiros: Final celebration goes to Hill-Murray

It was a celebration as much as a hockey game, a tip of the stocking cap on Saturday to the state's lingering love affair with the sport as part of an event called Hockey Day Minnesota.

The boys' teams from Hill-Murray and St. Thomas Academy arrived pleased to be a part of it, and probably more than a little thankful they were competing amid the splendor of Xcel Energy Center, and not in the great outdoors.

Yet there were the St. Thomas Academy Cadets leaving the X by midafternoon looking as if their invitation had been lost in the mail.

On a day they had long been looking forward to, in a game they had planned to be a coming of age of sorts, the Cadets were left wondering how so much good could turn so bad in such a short time.

Less than 14 seconds from a victory and a conference championship, St. Thomas Academy surrendered two goals and fell 4-3 in overtime to Hill-Murray.

"This is a tough one to swallow,'' St. Thomas Academy co-coach Tom Vannelli said. "We had them on the ropes.''

Two third-period goals gave the Cadets a 3-2 lead and, with the way goaltender Kurt Altrichter was playing, the lead looked as if it had a good chance of standing up. But Hill-Murray's Isaac Kohls scored off a scramble in front of the net with 14 seconds to play in regulation.

Hill-Murray (19-3-1, 13-1-1) needed only 22 seconds to score the game-winner, with leading goal scorer Dan Cecka netting his 28th of the season.

"We went into that overtime with great momentum,'' Cecka said. "We just wanted to end it right away.''

The Pioneers now only need a victory over Mahtomedi on Tuesday to capture the Classic Suburban League title. Hill-Murray beat the Zephyrs 3-1 in the first meeting between the teams. The Cadets (19-5-0, 13-2-0), meanwhile, might need some time to appreciate the fact that both teams put on a good show Saturday.

Members of the Wild and the New York Islanders wandered out of their respective locker rooms late in the game to catch some of the action behind the teams' benches. When the game went into overtime there was talk that the eight-minute extra period would have to be cut short if no one scored before 3:30. The Xcel staff couldn't wait past that point and still have the arena ready for the main event at 5 p.m.

The Pioneers ended any possibility of high school hockey's version of a Bud Selig moment.

"It was probably our best win of the season,'' Kohls said.

Vannelli talked of how the Cadets battled all season to be in position to control their own destiny on Saturday. To have their goal of winning the conference snatched from their grasp in such fashion will not be easy to reconcile.

Meanwhile, the Pioneers got a big push as they head toward the postseason.

"This is my 27th year, and, yeah, that was the kind of game that has an affect,'' Hill-Murray coach Bill Lechner said. "To lose a game like that late in the year, it takes a lot of character to pull it back quick enough.''

dspiros@startribune.com