Hill-Murray defeats Andover in MSHSL semifinal with stellar goalkeeping
ST. PAUL — The No. 2-seed Hill-Murray Pioneers (26-3-1) defeated the No. 3-seed Andover Huskies (22-5-3) 3-1 in the 2024 Class 2A MSHSL girls hockey state tournament semifinals at Xcel Energy Center.
Pioneer senior goalie Grace Zhan had 36 saves, 21 of them coming in the second period, to take Hill-Murray to its first state title game since 2015.
The Pioneers took control of the game in the first six minutes. Junior Ella Hornung capitalized on teammate Chloe Boreen wrapping around the net for a chance, and Hornung shot the puck off Boreen's centered pass.
Two minutes later, on the power play, freshman Jaycee Chatleain scored in the slot on the power play for a 2-0 lead.
"They had a couple good rushes, kind of cut into the middle, and they executed on their chances," Andover head coach Melissa Volk said. "We didn't have that puck luck to have that puck go in tonight, but I'm very proud of our effort."
Andover had its own success on the power play in the period. Mackenzie Jones buried a shot from the point to cut the lead to 2-1.
The Pioneers answered seconds later with a goal from freshman Elliana Engelhardt to put the Pioneers back up by two entering the second period. Fellow freshman Chatleain had the assist.
"The first period couldn't have gone any better for us," Hill-Murray coach John Pohl said. "Our response after the goal was absolutely amazing."
Zhan was the best player on the ice in the second period. Zhan, a finalist for the Jori Jones Award, given to the top senior goalie in the state, proved why she is a finalist during that period.
"Today, I feel like I did a pretty good job," Zhan said. "I was tracking things well. I communicated with my D. They pushed people away for me to see the puck come in. I have girls like [Hornung] blocking shots for me."
With under five minutes in the game, Hill-Murray's Addy McLay went to the penalty box, and Hill-Murray had struggled with Andover's power play in a game earlier this season. The Huskies went 2-for-3 in that game.
So the Pioneers had their first film session of the season before this game to focus on killing an Andover penalty. The Pioneers killed it, and they're off to the state title game.
"We were just focused on keeping them out of the middle," junior Hornung said. "We keep our sticks in the middle so they couldn't get any passing lanes through the middle."
Pohl added: "It was the first time we watched film all year. Maybe we should do more."
The Pioneer's will play the winner of No. 1-seed Minnetonka vs. No. 4-seed Edina on Saturday at 6 p.m. at Xcel Energy Center.
Stay with SBLive Minnesota for full coverage of the state tournament including previews, brackets, game recaps and live score updates throughout the week.
(Feature image by Jeff Lawler)
Download the SBLive Sports App
To get live updates on your phone - as well as follow your favorite teams and top games - you can download the SBLive Sports app: Download iPhone App | Download Android App
- Jack Butler | butler@scorebooklive.com | @Butler917
