Back in November, Roseville coach Vic Brodt knew there was plenty of work to be done for his team to have a shot at defending its state title. Quite simply, the Raiders lost a truckload of talent.

Four of the players from the Raiders’ state championship team of a year ago now play D-I hockey, including 2010’s Ms. Hockey Bethany Brausen (Minnesota), Kayla Capistrant (St. Cloud St.), Allie Duellman (Bemidji St.) and Chelsea Witwicke (Niagara). With those four standouts, last year’s senior class was responsible for a lot of offense and an immeasurable amount of leadership.

“This year, coming into the season with only two seniors and having to replace 125 goals, I wasn’t expecting to really repeat,” said Brodt of his young roster. “But as the season progressed and we saw the younger players step up, expectations have grown. We want to win the championship again.”

After defeating Stillwater 2-1 on Tuesday, the No. 2-seeded Raiders (22-5) are one win away from making the state tournament. But that win won’t come easily for the Raiders, who will face Hill-Murray (20-7) in the Class 2A, section 4 final on Friday night at Aldrich Arena in Maplewood.

Hill-Murray pulled an upset in their section semifinal Tuesday, using a hat trick from leading-scorer Hannah Brandt to get past top-seed White Bear Lake 4-3. The Pioneers have won 19 of their last 22 games, making their victory over the Bears no surprise to Brodt.

“Hill-Murray is going to be a formidable task, because they’ve got a pretty explosive first line,” Brodt said of this year’s section final rematch. “It’s going to be an exciting game. [Coach Bill Schafhauser] does a great job with those kids. We’re going to have to have our ‘A’ game.”

The Pioneers’ top line is led by Brandt, who netted the first three goals for Hill-Murray on Tuesday and then assisted on the game-winner. Schafhauser describes Brandt as a highly skilled forward that teams often try to contain with physical play. The coach believes the section final teams are evenly matched and his Pioneers will see a less physical game than they did against White Bear Lake.

“We match up pretty similar," Schafhauser said. "It’s usually a finesse game with them, and I think we match up better that way anyway.”

The section has had a major impact at the state tournament in past years and has produced the last two state champions -- Stillwater in 2009 and Roseville in 2010. Schafhauser believes that the caliber of teams in section 4 each year may play a role in preparing whichever squad is lucky enough to make it to state.

“A lot of people talk about that. This year, [White Bear Lake, Roseville, Stillwater and Hill-Murray] are really close. All four are really good. The section has definitely had some good results from it, and maybe that’s from how difficult it is to get through the sections.”