Hill-Murray's first line center, Abigail Boreen, has been doing this for a long time. It is her third year on varsity for the Pioneers (18-4-1, 8-0) after becoming a mainstay in her freshman year where the coaching staff not only had enough faith in the young player to get a regular shift, but also to spend time on the power play.

"I learned a lot from the older kids," Boreen said. "They showed me how to do it and were my role models. I just try to be like them."

Now the junior – who scored a goal and added two assists in Saturday afternoon's 4-1 victory over Dodge County (12-9-1, 1-0) – has become one of the best players in the state.

"I think my size is a strength," Boreen said. "I have a good shot, have speed coming into the zone and have good vision on the ice."

Boreen showed off her speed and skating on an end-to-end solo rush that nearly resulted in a goal in the second period and was one of the best passers on the ice for a Hill-Murray team that used crisp passing to keep their opponent pinned in their own zone for much of the contest.

The Pioneers, ranked No. 2 in Class 2A by the state coaches' poll, have not been their normal dominating selves the last week, going 0-1-1 in their last two games. It seemed the poor results would continue after Hill-Murray gave up the first goal of this game, but Boreen and the Pioneers bounced back to take control of the contest, eventually outshooting the Wildcats 39 to 14.

"We came out with the mentality that we had to work harder and get the puck deep, get shots on net, and play better as a team overall," Boreen said.

The junior's line accounted for three of the team's four goals.

"Our line played well as a whole. We got a lot of shots on net. It really flowed today."

The line, and Boreen specifically, has been flowing for a while now. The University of Minnesota commit has personally gone nine straight games and seventeen out of the last eighteen games with at least one point.

Boreen assisted on goals by Lindsey Featherstone and Alli Clark, with Amber Peterson also adding a goal. Goalie Ava Bailey stopped 13 of 14 shots in the victory.

Hill-Murray showed why it is one of the top ranked teams in Class 2A with a 4-1 home victory Saturday afternoon over Dodge County.

It was a special teams battle early at Aldrich Arena, with both teams going on the power play twice and each scoring a power play goal. The first would end at 1-1, but the Pioneers, ranked No. 2 in Class 2A by the state coaches' poll, were the more dangerous team, notching a nearly a three-to-one shots on goal advantage.

In the second period, Hill-Murray (18-4-1, 8-0) continued to dominate play. The Pioneers put 19 shots on net in the second period and scored two goals. Dodge County (12-9-1, 1-0) struggled to deal with Hill-Murray's forecheck, forcing goalie Gabby Suhr into 27 saves in the first two periods.

The Pioneers would add a final goal in the third from junior center Abigail Boreen, who notched a goal and two assists in the game. Lindsey Featherstone also helped drive the offense, recording a two-point night with a goal and an assist. In net, Ava Bailey stopped 13 of 14 shots.

Dodge County started the scoring with a 1st-period power play goal from Kayla Schubert. Suhr totaled 35 saves in the loss.