Hill-Murray didn’t have to wait long for a challenge following a two-week pause in its schedule due to COVID-19 concerns.
The Pioneers returned to practice this week, with games to follow against state-ranked opponents Wayzata and South St. Paul on Tuesday and Thursday, respectively.
So when the Pioneers finished off a 2-1 overtime victory at Doug Woog Arena against Metro East Conference rival South St. Paul Thursday, it’s no surprise members of the team expressed a sense of relief.
“It was a really good feeling, especially after these two weeks when we did not have any ice,” said Allie Franco, who scored the first goal for the Pioneers Thursday. “Tuesday was our first game back, and we are trying to get back to how we used to be.”
Freshman Chloe Boreen and Hill-Murray needed more than 51 minutes of regulation to pull out a 2-1 victory in a closely contested Metro East Conference matchup versus South St. Paul at Doug Woog Arena on Thursday.
A shot from Boreen worked its way to the back of the Packers’ net about 2 minutes into the overtime period to wrap the Pioneers’ closely contested battle with South St. Paul. Each team had 25 shots on goal heading into the overtime.
Hill-Murray’s first goal came on a second-period tally by junior Allie Franco, whose top-shelf wrist shot put the Pioneers (11-2-0) ahead 1-0. South St. Paul (11-6-1) responded in the third period after a long wrist shot from the side boards by Makenna Deering found the net to tie the game at 1.
Grace Zhan made 24 saves in goal for Hill-Murray, which is ranked No. 5 in the Class 2A coaches’ poll, while No. 6-1A South St. Paul’s Delaney Norman stopped 28 shots.
The MN Girls' Hockey Hub poll is for entertainment purposes only.