March 8, 2008 @ Xcel Energy Center 7:00

There is a certain aura that can be felt during the final game of the high school hockey season, an acknowledgment that months of hard play by hundreds of teams through thousands of games has left all the eyes of a hockey state on two remaining teams, one of which will stand above the rest. Even more so this year, people sensed excellence was about to ensue, with over 18,000 packing the Xcel Energy Center the final two nights and setting a state hockey attendance record with a standing-room only crowd Friday. With help from the seeding process, the state's top four teams had finally all reached the semifinals, and although all played well, Hill-Murray put on a sublime performance, taking down the top two teams by four and three goals respectively. They let Edina and Benilde-St. Margaret's put on the overtime show that everyone wanted, leaving their coaches' and fans' nerves intact by never letting any of their opponents back in the game, thanks to an all-out team defensive effort and a wonderful tournament by senior goaltender Joe Phillippi.

The 3-0 score in the championship game belied an evenly played game on the ice by two classy, tradition-rich schools. Hill-Murray's strategy of getting a lead and then playing a smart backchecking game that has typified many White Bear Lake confrontations now befuddled first Roseau and then Edina. As the game wore on, it became clear that as well as Edina played, they just weren't going to score. Not during a barrage late in the second period in which their four top players had point-blank chances within minutes of each other. Not in the third period when a shot ricocheted off the goalpost and rolled off the top of the net. Not during five power plays that lasted almost nine minutes. They simply ran into a brick wall in Phillippi. The winner of the Brimsek award as the state's top senior goaltender was in a zone all week, recording two shutouts to add to the seven he already had this season, and stopped 98% of shots he faced in the tournament.

Ryan Furne set the tone early with an unassisted goal at 2:30 of the first period. He poke-checked the puck away in the neutral zone, accelerated past a flat-footed defenseman, and fired a shot past Derrick Caschetta on the stick side.

Hill-Murray seemed in perfect rhythm in the second half of the first period and made several bids to increase their lead. Dan Cecka set up Isaac Kohls for a one-timer and had an opening to tuck in the rebound, but it clanged off the far post.

It appeared the Pioneers' efforts would only be good enough for a one goal lead heading into the intermission. With the seconds ticking down, Furne again gained control in the neutral zone and fired a desperation shot through a screen from outside the blue line. It spun off Caschetta's blocker and came to rest in the net with the clock showing 0.1 seconds.

From that point on, this was Hill-Murray's game to lose. Edina ratcheted up the pressure in the second period, sending 15 shots goalward and making a stand in the last five minutes with their best scoring opportunities of the game. Joe Gleason had space and time to pick a corner from 15 feet, but Phillippi snared his shot with his glove. Marshall Everson got off a backhand from close range, and linemates Anders Lee and Zach Budish had back to back shots moments later. However, for the most part the Hill-Murray defense contained Edina's dangerous offense, not allowing odd-man rushes, not allowing them much time to get off shots, and clearing the few rebounds that laid near the crease. Defenseman Dan Sova would be recognized on the all-tournament team, and Bo Dolan might as well have been. Their penalty kill was again fantastic, going 5 for 5 as the officials seemed to be keeping an especially watchful eye on the black uniforms.

The Pioneers officially had only four shots in the second period, but just missed on several 2-on-1s. Furne got off an even better shot at the horn this time, but Caschetta stopped that one.

By the third period, it was clear Edina was losing its zip after playing only two lines for most of the game. Fittingly, Hill-Murray's regularly-shifted third line scored the goal that put the game out of reach, a deflection of a Chris Casto shot by Lou Metcalf that Caschetta could only watch sail over his glove.

With 12:24 to play and a 3-0 lead, the Pioneers' attention turned to helping their goalie preserve a second tournament shutout, the perfect ending to a high school career so long that it is difficult to remember the last time another goalie started a meaningful game for Hill-Murray. Phillippi was thrust into action in the middle of his freshmen season. He played well and got better every year, but thus far the team had come up short of its postseason goal. They lost in the section quarterfinal in 2005. Tyler Zepeda was on the 2006 team that went 27-1-1 before losing in the state semifinal. Fifteen players on this year's team were on the 2007 team that made it back to the state tournament but had their championship hopes dashed in a first-round overtime loss.

This year, those fifteen were joined by five more talented players and had high expectations entering the season. They made Xcel their home away from home, going 6-1 there. The loss was to Minnetonka in December, probably the only game all season that Hill-Murray was outplayed, and they still had plenty of chances to score more goals that night. It was after the Minnetonka loss that people seemed to write Hill-Murray off as an also-ran, a challenger behind the west metro powerhouses and Roseau. But Hill-Murray was a great team all along, capable of beating anybody if they played a complete game. Which they did at the perfect time.

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