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Hill-Murray slips past Lakeville North

By MN Girls Hockey Hub, 12/30/13, 12:00AM CST

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No. 7 Pioneers avenge early season loss to No. 6 Panthers, advance to semifinals of Kaposia Classic

With 15 seconds left, hustling Hill-Murray sophomore Laura Anderson scored her second goal, firing a wide-angle shot that found the top left corner of the empty net to foil Lakeville North's comeback attempt.

The play of No. 7-ranked Hill-Murray's Andersons helped avenge an early season loss to the Panthers, as the Pioneers defeated No. 6 Lakeville North 4-2 in the quarterfinals of the Doug Woog Kaposia Classic on Monday at Wakota Arena in South St. Paul.

"We've come a long way since the beginning of the season," Hill-Murray coach Bill Schafhauser said. "We really wanted to get our puck movement going, trying to get into those scoring zones. I thought we did a better job of that today."

Lakeville North grabbed the early lead after Alexis Joyce sniped top left over Hill-Murray goaltender Leah Patrick from the point. The Pioneers tied it at 1 after Panthers' goalie Abby Cooper took a hard shot to the chest from Kate Smith. The puck flew over Cooper's head and into the net.

Hill-Murray gained the lead late in the first period after Jac Kaasa sent a shot to Cooper's right leg pad, leaving a tailor-made rebound for Anderson to score. Both teams were booked separate penalties to close the first period.

Joyce was called for checking 24 seconds into the second period, leaving just seven skaters on the ice in a 4-on-3 in favor of the Pioneers. Senior Brittney Anderson was open at the point, where Jess Bonfe slipped a perfect pass to her. Anderson slid through the slot and fired over the left pad of Cooper and into the net.

"I just saw an opening and went down through there," Anderson said about her goal. "Jess made an amazing pass. I knew it was a close game so I just shot and it went in, luckily."

Maddie McGlade found Joyce sprinting out of the penalty box for a breakaway goal to match Hill-Murray for the second period.

The Pioneers held their one goal lead in the third period, allowing only four shots on goal. Lakeville North pulled Cooper in the final minute of the game for the extra forward on the ice. Brittney Anderson under duress fired the puck out of the defensive zone, leading to Laura Anderson's chase for the free puck.

"We try to win each and every period," Schafhauser said. "That approach works best for us, if we try to think too much, that's when mistakes are made."

Hill-Murray stretched its win streak to seven games and will play Mounds View on Tuesday at 2:30 p.m. at Wakota Arena in the semifinals.

-- Trevor Squire

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