Hill-Murray Pioneer Hockey: Game 2011-01-27

First Period
No Scoring

Second Period
HM, Ryan Holler (Luke Voltin, Zach LaValle), 4:52.
STA, Peter Krieger (Alex Johnson, Andrew Commers), 5:46.
HM, Bob Bruski (Jake Guentzel, Kevin Schulze), 12:00.
HM, Bob Bruski (Zach LaValle, Ben Bahe), 16:45 (pp).

Third Period
STA, AJ Reid (Taylor Fleming, Tony Bretzman), 3:35.
STA, AJ Reid (Matt Kroska, Zach Schroeder), 8:44.
HM, Jake Guentzel (Ben Bahe, Bob Bruski), 15:47.

Shots by period
Hill-Murray	12	15	5	-	32
St. Thomas Academy	7	8	16	-	31

Goalies Minutes GA Saves Result
HM - Tim Shaughnessy 51 3 28 W
STA - David Zevnik 50 4 28 L

Power Plays Goals Attempts Time
Hill-Murray 1 1 0:20
St. Thomas Academy 0 1 2:00

Hill-Murray built a 3-1 lead after two periods, then needed a late goal to secure a victory over St. Thomas in the first of two games between the two Classic Suburban powers. Hill-Murray is now 7-0 in conference play; St. Thomas is 5-1.

The Pioneers spent the majority of the first two periods in the St. Thomas end and could have had a bigger lead if not for the sharp play of netminder David Zednik, who escaped the first period without surrendering a goal after Kevin Schulze's long shot clanged off the post just before the buzzer sounded. Hill-Murray finally scored at 4:52 of the second when Luke Voltin chased down a loose puck near the net, spun around, and made a nice pass across the crease to Ryan Holler who shot it in. St. Thomas quickly erased that well earned lead when Peter Krieger scored from behind the net a minute later.

Jake Guentzel made a similar cross-crease pass to set up Bobby Bruski for a tap-in goal and a 2-1 lead. Bruski then netted his second, wedging a shot between Zednik's glove and the post after a setup from Zach LaValle, who had just drawn Hill-Murray's only power play.

St. Thomas played much better in the third period and tied the game with two goals off the stick of leading scorer AJ Reid, one on a rebound and the other a shot from the top of the crease after a broken odd man rush.

Guentzel then made the most of one of Hill-Murray's few scoring chances of the period, wristing a 20 foot shot from the left circle over Zednik's blocker with 1:13 to play. St. Thomas played with an extra attacker in the final minute and continually applied pressure, but the Hill-Murray defense held firm this time.