With the final seconds ticking away in the first period of their Class AA State Tournament opener on Thursday morning, Hill-Murray coach John Pohl found himself paraphrasing a popular Taylor Swift song.
“The quote we use from time to time is, ‘We’ve seen this movie before,’ ” Pohl said, recalling a handful of games from the Pioneers’ 24-3-1 season, so far, where the defending state champions have out-shot foes by a large margin but have been frustrated by a hot goalie.
Lakeville North forward Elise Reilly (19) skates with the puck against Hill-Murray during the second period of a Class 2A quarterfinal game of the State Girls Hockey Tournament at Grand Casino Arena in St. Paul on Thursday, Feb. 18, 2026. (Matt Blewett / Special to the Pioneer Press)
The Pioneers were outshooting Lakeville North 20-1 at the time, but had not yet solved Panthers goalie Beth Bigalke, who came to St. Paul on the strength of a pair of overtime shutouts in the section playoffs.
When it was all over, and Hill-Murray had won walking away, advancing to Friday evening’s semifinals with a 6-1 victory at Grand Casino Arena.
It was Addy McLay’s goal with seven seconds remaining in the first period that helped break things open. Olivia Braunshausen set up McLay for the goal, and said that not panicking, either due to the lack of early scoring or the ticking clock, was key in the opening 17 minutes.
“We had a faceoff in our D zone with I think like 32 seconds left, and I knew we were short on time,” Braunshausen said. “Addy was wide open and I know she can rip that home, so I was like, ‘I’ve gotta get this to Addy,’ and she did it.”
Hill-Murray broke it open in the second period with Braunshausen getting the eventual game-winner early in the middle frame, and Reese Unklesbay scoring one of her two goals in the game to give the Pioneers a 4-0 lead after two.
Starting goalie Piper Tam stopped all four shots she faced in the first two periods plus, with Charlotte Oscarson coming on in relief late. Allie Abeln cut to the net to score late for Lakeville North, which will take a 17-10-2 record into the consolation round.
“We came across a buzzsaw today,” Panthers coach Buck Kochevar said, calling Hill-Murray the best team his program has faced in eight trips to the state tourney. “They’re well-oiled and proved that they’re a top-end team, for sure.”
Bigalke finished with 38 saves for Lakeville North in the loss.
Related Articles
Boys hockey sectionals: Andover upsets Totino-Grace, EP-Tonka showdown set
Girls hockey: Dodge County’s OT winner sets up rematch with Warroad in Class A state quarterfinals
Girls state hockey: Off-ice drama behind it, Lakeville North focused on a trophy
Boys hockey section roundup: Eastview upsets Eagan in OT, CDH and STA set for semifinal clash
Future Gopher Payton Rolli backstops Warroad’s latest title quest
Leave a Reply