Pioneer Hockey Team Records

1975*-2024

Provided by Jim Just

* Because playoff formats and regular season schedules varied frequently prior to 1975, most comparisons to post-1975 years would be unfair and are not included here. However, the 1971 team finished with 23 wins in a 24 game regular season (23-0-1) and allowed 32 goals in 28 total games, both of which would be school records. Also, the 2021 team allowed 21 goals in a shortened 20 game season.

Most wins (season): 28, (28-0-0), 1983
Most wins (regular season) (20 games): 20, (20-0-0), 1980, 1983
Most wins (regular season) (22 games): 21, (21-1-0), 1996
Most wins (regular season) (25 games): 23*, (23-1-1), 2006
Most losses (season): 14, (12-14-1), 2001; (16-14-1), 2023
Most losses (regular season) (20 games): 4, (16-4-0), 1976; (15-4-1), 1985
Most losses (regular season) (22 games): 8, (12-8-2), 1998
Most losses (regular season) (25 games): 13, (11-13-1), 2001, 2023
Most ties (season): 4, (19-7-4), 2017; (13-13-4), 2018

Most goals for (season): 243, 1983
Most goals for (state tournament): 23, 1991
Most goals for (section playoffs): 35, 1975
Fewest goals for (season): 91, 2001
Fewest goals for (state tournament): 2, 1999, 2000, 2017
Fewest goals for (section playoffs): 4, 2005

Most goals against (season): 89, 1991
Most goals against (state tournament): 15, 1976
Most goals against (section playoffs): 13, 1991
Fewest goals against (season): 33*, 1975
Fewest goals against (state tournament): 2, 2008
Fewest goals against (section playoffs): 1, 2010

Most consecutive wins (overall): 33, 1983-1984
Most consecutive wins (state tournament): 4, 2020-2022
Most consecutive wins (section playoffs): 26, 1975-1981
Most consecutive losses (overall): 6, 2000-2001
Most consecutive losses (state tournament): 7, 2013-2018
Most consecutive losses (section playoffs): 2, 2004-2005

Most goals for, one game (regular season): 22, 22-0 vs. StP Central, 1985
Most goals for, one game (state tournament): 11, 11-3 vs. Grand Rapids, 1991
Most goals for, one game (section playoffs): 17, 17-2 vs. Brooklyn Center, 1991; 17-0 vs. StP Como Park, 2011
Most goals against, one game (regular season): 10, 1-10 vs. Roseville, 2002
Most goals against, one game (state tournament): 7, 4-7 vs. Grand Rapids, 1976
Most goals against, one game (section playoffs): 5, 6-5 (2OT) vs. Forest Lake, 1991; 3-5 vs. White Bear Lake, 1995; 4-5 (OT) vs. North St. Paul, 2005; 4-5 (2OT) vs. White Bear Lake, 2011

Largest winning margin (regular season): 22, 22-0 vs. StP Central, 1985
Largest winning margin (state tournament): 8, 11-3 vs. Grand Rapids, 1991
Largest winning margin (section playoffs): 17, 17-0 vs. StP Como Park, 2011
Largest losing margin (regular season): 9, 1-10 vs. Roseville, 2002
Largest losing margin (state tournament): 6, 0-6 vs. Moorhead, 1997
Largest losing margin (section playoffs): 3, 1-4 vs. White Bear Lake, 1998; 0-3 vs. White Bear Lake, 2024

Most overtime wins (season): 5, 2024
Most overtime wins (state tournament): 1, 1976, 1978, 1985, 1987, 1988, 2002, 2012, 2020, 2022, 2023
Most overtime wins (section playoffs): 2, 1987, 1991, 2009, 2019
Most overtime losses (season): 3, 2020, 2023
Most overtime losses (state tournament): 2, 2007
Most overtime losses (section playoffs): 1, 1989, 1990, 1994, 1996, 2005, 2011, 2016
Most overtime games (season): 8, 2024
Fewest overtime games (season): 0, 1975, 1986
Longest game (elapsed time): 86:31, 1-2 (4OT) vs. Minnetonka, 2010

Individual Leaders

There is some margin of error with individual stats due to incomplete record keeping particularly in the 1960s and 1970s, and even variation among sources for recent years. These are the known program leaders.

Career points: The career points record was broken in 2013 by Zach LaValle who finished with 198. Todd Norman (1984) had 180. Pat Conroy's (1971) exact total is unknown, but probably in the 170s.

Career goals: Pat Conroy (1971) and Mark Krois (1983) are the leaders in career goals with 88.

Career assists: Zach LaValle (2013) leads with 114 assists. Todd Norman with 111 and Tyler Zepeda (2009) with 108 are the only others to break the century mark.

Single season points: Rick Belde had 87 according to the 1973 year end stat sheet, five more than Pat Conroy's total two seasons earlier. Nick Larson (79 in 2006) has the highest total since that time.

Single season goals: Rod Romanchuk is the only 50 goal scorer in school history (55 in 1975). Pat Conroy (49 in 1971), Rick Belde (45 in 1973), and Nick Larson (41 in 2006) had 40 goal seasons.

Single season assists: Jake Guentzel became the first Pioneer to record 50 assists in a season in 2012.

Scoring by defensemen: Jason Godbout (1994) leads with 54 goals and 87 assists. Pat Ethier (1979) has confirmed totals of 49 goals and 43 assists, although his assist total is likely higher. Many of Todd Norman's points came as a defenseman, but he also played center.

Career goaltending (minimum 30 games): Steve Janaszak (1975) and Joe Phillippi (2008) have the most wins, 63. Nick Erickson (2022) has the best career GAA at 1.40, followed by Janaszak and Jeff Poeschl (1980). Erickson leads in career save percentage at .931, followed by Jake Begley (2017) at .928.

Single season goaltending (minimum 15 games): Tim Russell (1971) had 26 wins and a 1.13 GAA. Remington Keopple (2020) had a .934 save percentage, and Nick Erickson (2021) had .937.

Single Game Feats

On 1/11/73, Rick Belde scored 4 goals and 5 assists. Belde might have scored 6 goals the previous game (and Kevin Nugent 9 points), although the game record is unclear.
On 1/31/81, with HM down 4-1 in the third period, Joe Horwath scored three consecutive goals, the last with HM two men short. HM defeated Harding 5-4 in OT.
On 2/4/87, Tony Reif scored a pair of shorthanded goals seven seconds apart.
On 12/11/03, Sam Kelly scored 6 goals and 3 assists.
On 2/5/14, Sam Illgen made 53 saves in a 4-3 win.

Last Second Goals

In the 1991 section semifinal, Park scored at the final buzzer, but Hill-Murray won in overtime and went on to a state championship. In the 1978 consolation game, Rochester John Marshall also tied the game in the last second, but Hill-Murray won in overtime. On 1/23/93, the Pioneers tied Coon Rapids in the final second of regulation and won in overtime.

On 1/16/01, Hill-Murray tied Duluth East in the final second but lost in overtime. On 12/1/01, Hill-Murray scored the winning goal against Duluth East with one second remaining, after tying the game 33 seconds earlier. The series between those two schools had several other late but not that late heroics during that era.

Big Comebacks

The largest deficit overcome by a Hill-Murray team was 5 goals on 2/17/83, an 8-7 OT win vs. Rochester John Marshall. In the 1991 section quarterfinal, Forest Lake forced double overtime after being down 5-0. On 1/22/98, Hill-Murray earned a tie after trailing Elk River 5-1.

All of those games had a four goal margin entering the third period. On 2/18/95, Hill-Murray trailed Stillwater 5-1 entering the third period, pulled within 5-4, and put the puck in just after time expired.

Penalty Shots

Penalty shots in high school hockey are very rare. Jesse Unklesbay converted one on 12/27/96, Zach Mills on 2/5/15, and Owen Quast on 12/6/18. Missed penalty shots for HM occurred on 12/30/03, 3/2/07 (late in a section final but did not affect the outcome), 12/8/09, and 2/28/24.

Dan Kehler saved a penalty shot in overtime on 1/27/00. Joe Phillippi saved another on 1/21/06, a #1 vs #2 game against Holy Angels. Fred Hennen stopped one on 12/3/92. White Bear Lake scored on 12/8/15. Jake Begley saved one on 12/10/16. Moorhead scored on 2/19/22. Andrew Lane saved one on 1/6/24.

Hill-Murray has won penalty shootouts in holiday tournaments during the 2007, 2011, 2013, and 2018 seasons, and lost in 2017 and 2019.