They’ve played together on all the smallest stages imaginable — including ponds and neighborhood rinks — so it’s only fitting that when the Brandt sisters made it to their biggest stage thus far, they did it together.

And they made it count.

On Thursday, when Marissa Brandt was around, it seemed Hannah was not far away. The two combined to contribute three goals and two assists, helping Hill-Murray (22-7) hold on to a 4-3 victory in the Class 2A state quarterfinals after No. 3 seed Lakeville South threatened late.

“It’s a unique situation with these two,” Pioneers coach Bill Schafhauser said. “We’re always dangerous when these guys are on the ice.”

After Lakeville South scored first, Hannah, a junior, set up Marissa, a senior, for the Pioneers’ first goal — the younger Brandt swiped the puck from Lakeville South’s Ari Reid in the second period, aimed at the right side of the net, and when goalie Chelsea Laden flopped in that direction, Hannah tucked it in the left side for a 2-1 lead.

“I just think we’ve played together for so long that we know where each other are without having to look,” Hannah said. “We hardly even call for the puck with each other. It’s weird.”

Hill-Murray scored twice more in the second period: first on a shot by Margo Lund, and then Marissa grabbed a rebound goal on a power play.

But in the third period, things got more interesting. Lakeville South’s Morgan Fritz-Ward scored unassisted 11 minutes into the period, and then KK Naasz netted one with 90 seconds left to make it 4-3, but the Cougars were unable to finish the magic. They’ve lost three times this season — twice to Hill-Murray.

“We knew we had it in us,” South coach Perry Wilkinson said. “We’ve just got to play better.”

Marissa Brandt, Hill-Murray
The senior forward scored two goals – including the game-winner – in the Pioneers’ 4-3 Class 2A state quarterfinal win over Lakeville South on Thursday. 

Q For a team that has never been to state before, you guys showed a lot of composure.
A It’s crazy to be here. It was a little overwhelming to be here in this atmosphere but I think we got all of our jitters out of the way in the first period and then we were ready to go. But it was overwhelming. It’s still unreal to me. You have to pinch yourself sometimes. It’s so great to be here – especially my sister but with all my teammates. I’ve worked four years to get here and it’s so fun. 

Q Do you ever get tired of watching your sister (Hannah) score the type of highlight-reel goals she does?
A Never! She’s so creative. I am proud of her every single time. She has a knack to go to the net and make such smart plays; she just knows what to do the entire time. She’s an instinct-kind of player. All-around smart. Sometimes she pulls out these tricks and I’m just like, ‘How did you learn that?’ It’s just something she has. 

Q Were you confident that your goal late in the second period would hold up as the game-winner?
A Not really. I mean, we thought we could win. But we played Lakeville South earlier and beat them (3-2) in overtime. We knew that kind of, work-for-it goal is what we needed. And after that, you have to tell yourself to play like it’s a 0-0 game. Definitely getting up 4-1 like that was huge, but you can’t rest on it.