To beat Hill-Murray, a team will first need to slow down the Pioneers. Rosemount became the latest team that couldn’t.
That means the Pioneers have a chance to win the state girls’ Class 2A hockey tournament for the first time in a decade.
Emily Pohl had two goals and two assists, Jaycee Chatleain had two goals and one assist, and Hill-Murray beat Rosemount 5-2 in a Friday state semifinal at the Xcel Energy Center. Eliana Engelhardt also scored and Piper Tam made 17 saves.
Winners of 11 straight, the No. 3 Pioneers (24-6-0) will face either top-seeded Edina or No. 5 Holy Family in Saturday’s 7 p.m. title tilt. Edina beat Hill-Murray 2-0 in last year’s final.
The Pioneers seek their third school title. Hill-Murray went back-to-back in 2014-15.
Audrey Boll and Annalee Holzer scored for the Irish (22-8-0). Goaltender Gianna Marchese finished with 43 saves, two shy of her career high that was set in a 6-0 loss to the Pioneers on Dec. 10.
Marchese had 37 saves in Thursday’s quarterfinal when the seventh-seeded Irish beat No. 2 Centennial/St. Louis Park 3-2.
Her performance continued to give Rosemount a chance, an opportunity that got a boost 65 seconds into the third period when Boll scored on a rebound to get the upset-minded Irish within 2-1.
But Chatleain made it 3-1 for Hill-Murray six minutes later with a quick shot. Pohl drove to the middle, and when three defenders converged, the puck squirted to Chatleain alone near the side of the net.
Pohl added her second with 3:07 to play, a three-goal lead that didn’t last a minute because, with the extra attacker, Holzer tipped a shot into the Hill-Murray net. Chatleain iced the game with a goal in the final minute.
Rosemount struggled with the Pioneers speed much of the night.
The game’s first goal was a prime example.
Sprinting from near the red line to keep the puck in the Rosemount zone just before it came out by the Irish bench, Pohl kept her speed down the right wall untouched, cut across untouched, and tucked the puck behind Marchese.
But the Rosemount goalie stopped Chatleain, who was alone down the slot after a Pohl pass, a couple minutes later.
The Irish appeared to tie the game 33 seconds into the second period on a redirect by Holzer, but, after video review, the Irish were found to be offsides entering the zone.
Fifteen of the first 16 shots in the second came from a Hill-Murray player, including Engelhardt’s rebound goal off a scramble in front at 4:21 for a 2-0 lead.
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