Victory over Gentry Academy vaults Hill-Murray into boys hockey state tournament

One of the least-heralded teams in the proud history of Hill-Murray boys hockey enjoyed its finest hour Friday.

The Pioneers defeated Gentry Academy 3-0 in the Class 2A, Section 4 final at Aldrich Arena. With the victory, Hill-Murray secured its 33rd state tournament appearance since 1975.

"This was probably the hardest and the most rewarding to pull off with our youth, sickness, injuries and craziness," coach Bill Lechner said. "It's a huge relief. It's probably the hardest we had to work."

No. 3 seed Hill-Murray (14-13-1), a Maplewood-based private school, was making its 18th consecutive appearance in the section final game. The Pioneers dropped five of their final six regular-season games, scoring a combined six goals in those losses.

But they jumped to a 2-0 lead just 1 minute, 50 seconds into the second period. Eighth-grader Riley Zupfer and junior Lucas Mann scored their eighth and sixth goals, respectively, this season.

As the period wore on, the Pioneers leaned on senior goalie Jack Erickson. He made several key saves to thwart No. 4 seed Gentry Academy (19-9) on both odd-man rushes and point-blank attempts, helping end the Stars' seven-game winning streak.

"It's a big game so they were going to be coming hard," said Erickson, who made 25 saves and posted his second shutout this season. "So you've just got to lock it down."

Gentry Academy, a Vadnais Heights-based charter school, buzzed again later in the third period but could not solve Erickson.

Lechner said a less-trying season might have elevated Erickson into the conversation for the Frank Brimsek Award given to the state's top senior goalie. He has allowed 2.34 goals per game and posted a 92% save percentage.

"Very respectfully to the three Brimsek finalists, if we had a little more depth of experienced guys, I think his name would have been all over that, too," Lechner said. "He's been stellar."