1996-1997 Hill-Murray Hockey
Section 3AA Champion
Twin Cities Suburban East Champion
East Side Showdown Champion
- Hill-Murray ended White Bear's three year hold on Section 3, defeating the Bears three times including 6-3 in the playoffs. The Pioneers then won the section final 4-0 over Roseville, a game that remained scoreless until Hill-Murray broke it open with four third period goals.
- In the school's first state tournament in four seasons, Hill-Murray won a fast, physical game against Jefferson in the first round, then jumped out to an early lead against Edina before surrendering two late first period goals. The game was 4-4 midway through the second period, but neither team could score again until Sam Cornelius scored the winner on a screened shot in the third overtime.
- After losing the championship game the year before, Hill-Murray won the East Side Showdown, scoring twice in the third period to defeat Rosemount 5-3.
- Hill-Murray took state #1 Duluth East to overtime in the second game of the regular season, which was the closest anybody came to beating East until Hibbing tied them at the end of the regular season. Edina then came off a three overtime win the night before to hand East its first loss, 1-0 in the state championship game.
- A new school, Maple Grove, replaced Irondale in the TCS, which was still split into west and east, but teams played one game against all conference opponents. Hill-Murray scheduled a second non-conference game against White Bear Lake, Roseville, and Stillwater.
| Date | Opponent | Score | Location | |
| 11/30 | Edina | 4-1 | W | Aldrich |
| 12/7 | Duluth East | 3-4 | L (OT) | DECC (Duluth) |
| 12/14 | Stillwater | 7-0 | W | Aldrich |
| 12/19 | White Bear Lake | 12-1 | W | Aldrich |
| 12/21 | Roseville | 4-2 | W | Roseville Arena |
| 12/26 | St. Paul Johnson | 8-2 | W | Aldrich |
| 12/27 | Burnsville | 6-2 | W | Aldrich |
| 12/30 | Rosemount | 5-3 | W | Aldrich |
| 1/4 | Maple Grove* | 5-0 | W | Aldrich |
| 1/9 | Coon Rapids* | 8-1 | W | Cook Arena |
| 1/11 | Osseo* | 5-1 | W | Osseo Arena |
| 1/16 | Park Center* | 10-1 | W | Coliseum |
| 1/18 | Stillwater* | 8-1 | W | Aldrich |
| 1/23 | Elk River* | 4-1 | W | Coliseum |
| 1/25 | Champlin Park* | 2-3 | L | Aldrich |
| 1/30 | Mounds View* | 7-0 | W | Roseville Arena |
| 2/1 | Roseville* | 4-3 | W | Aldrich |
| 2/4 | Bloomington Jefferson | 2-1 | W | Aldrich |
| 2/6 | Forest Lake* | 7-1 | W | Coliseum |
| 2/8 | Blaine* | 4-2 | W | Fogerty Arena |
| 2/13 | Anoka* | 5-2 | W | Coliseum |
| 2/15 | White Bear Lake* | 8-2 | W | Aldrich |
| . | ||||
| Section 3AA Playoffs | ||||
| 2/19 | Irondale | 9-0 | W | Aldrich |
| 2/25 | White Bear Lake | 6-3 | W | Coliseum |
| 2/28 | Roseville | 4-0 | W | Coliseum |
| . | ||||
| State Tournament | ||||
| 3/6 | Bloomington Jefferson | 4-2 | W | St. Paul Civic Center |
| 3/7 | Edina | 4-5 | L (3OT) | St. Paul Civic Center |
| 3/8 | Moorhead | 0-6 | L | St. Paul Civic Center |
Final Record 24-4-0
Varsity Roster
Assistant: Dave Schwartz, Herb Harvey
| No. | Name | Pos. | Grade | Height | Weight |
| 1 | Jon Verlo | G | 12 | 5' 9" | 160 |
| 7 | Brian Belde | F | 12 | 6' 0" | 200 |
| 8 | Dan Barrett | D | 11 | 6' 1" | 190 |
| 9 | Rick Brosseau | F | 12 | 5' 11" | 175 |
| 10 | Jeff Rothmund | F | 12 | 5' 10" | 165 |
| 11 | Dave Klosner | D | 11 | 5' 8" | 155 |
| 14 | Joe Schmidt (A) | F | 12 | 6' 1" | 195 |
| 15 | Mike Engstrom | F | 10 | 5' 9" | 180 |
| 16 | David Graham | D | 11 | 6' 0" | 175 |
| 17 | Dave Tanabe | D | 11 | 6' 1" | 190 |
| 18 | Andy Ness | F | 12 | 5' 8" | 155 |
| 19 | David Schlundt | F | 12 | 6' 2" | 165 |
| 20 | Brad Holzinger | D | 10 | 5' 9" | 180 |
| 21 | Jason Carey | G | 11 | 5' 8" | 160 |
| 22 | Brandon Sampair (C) | F | 12 | 5' 9" | 185 |
| 24 | Anthony Rockenbach | F | 12 | 5' 10" | 165 |
| 25 | Jesse Unklesbay | F | 12 | 5' 9" | 170 |
| 26 | Zach Scribner | D | 11 | 6' 0" | 175 |
| 27 | Joe Shillings | F | 11 | 5' 9" | 160 |
| 28 | Steve Jones | F | 12 | 6' 0" | 200 |
Pioneer Press All-state: Brandon Sampair, Dave Tanabe
Honorable mention: Rick Brosseau, Jason Carey, Zach Scribner, Jesse Unklesbay
All-tournament team: Brandon Sampair
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