2011-2012 Hill-Murray Hockey
Section 4AA Champion
Classic Suburban Champion
- The 2012 Pioneers got off to a slow start following high turnover at defense and a late end to the school's football season. However, they did manage to steal a 2-1 December win over St. Thomas Academy, which, combined with a 5-2 win at STA in January, gave Hill-Murray its third straight CSC crown and a 31 game conference win streak at season's end.
- The team's best win was a 5-2 thumping of #2 Maple Grove in the state quarterfinal, a team which had won its section final 15-1 a week earlier. In the semifinal, Hill-Murray faced a defensive minded Moorhead team led by the state's top goalie, Michael Bitzer. Trailing 1-0, Conrad Sampair scored the tying goal in the third period and netted the winner in overtime. The celebration had to wait pending a video review after the puck had gone in and out of the net so quickly that the referee had initially signaled no goal.
- The season was bookended by losses to Benilde-St. Margaret's. In the championship game, stymied on one end by BSM netminder Justin Quale, Hill-Murray had no answer on the other for Grant Besse, who scored five times including three shorthanded goals.
- Jake Guentzel had one of the finest individual seasons ever by a Pioneer, finishing with 74 points. Close behind were captains Charlie Sampair and Zach LaValle. Junior Blake Heinrich emerged as one of the state's top defensemen, and his defensive partner Sam Becker joined him on the all tournament team despite playing the first third of the season at forward.
- Guentzel debuted in the NHL for Pittsburgh in 2016-17, and scored a goal on his first shift. The Penguins won the Cup that season, and Guentzel was the leading goal scorer in the playoffs.
- White Bear Lake lost their section quarterfinal 6-5 in OT to Johnson, after leading 5-1 midway through the third period, meaning the Pioneers and Bears did not play each other in the playoffs for the first time since 2005. Instead, the Pioneers fended off an upset bid from Roseville, reclaiming the section crown with a 3-2 win.
| Day | Date | Opponent | Score | Location | Time | ||
| Thu | 12/1 | Benilde-St. Margaret's | 2-3 | L | Aldrich | 7:30 | |
| Sat | 12/3 | Burnsville | 2-5 | L | Burnsville Arena | 3:00 | |
| Thu | 12/8 | Henry Sibley* | 12-0 | W | Aldrich | 7:30 | |
| Sat | 12/10 | St. Thomas Academy* | 2-1 | W | Aldrich | 7:30 | |
| Thu | 12/15 | Mahtomedi* | 3-1 | W | Aldrich | 7:30 | |
| Sat | 12/17 | Wayzata | 4-5 | L (OT) | Aldrich | 7:30 | |
| Thu | 12/22 | White Bear Lake | 7-2 | W | Aldrich | 7:30 | |
| Mon | 12/26 | Minnetonka | 3-7 | L | Ridder Arena | 5:30 | |
| Tue | 12/27 | Blaine | 4-2 | W | Xcel Energy Center | 2:30 | |
| Wed | 12/28 | Burnsville | 4-3 | W (OT) | Super Rink | 3:30 | |
| Sat | 1/7 | South St. Paul* | 6-1 | W | Wakota Arena | 3:00 | |
| Thu | 1/12 | North St. Paul* | 3-0 | W | Polar Arena | 8:00 | |
| Sat | 1/14 | Tartan* | 6-0 | W | Aldrich | 7:30 | |
| Tue | 1/17 | Eden Prairie | 3-5 | L | Eden Prairie CC | 7:30 | |
| Sat | 1/21 | Henry Sibley* | 14-0 | W | West St. Paul Arena | 3:00 | |
| Thu | 1/26 | St. Thomas Academy* | 5-2 | W | St. Thomas Arena | 7:30 | |
| Sat | 1/28 | Mahtomedi* | 7-3 | W | St. Croix RC | 3:00 | |
| Tue | 1/31 | Eagan | 2-4 | L | Aldrich | 7:30 | |
| Thu | 2/2 | Richfield* | 16-2 | W | Richfield Arena | 7:15 | |
| Sat | 2/4 | Simley* | 11-3 | W | Aldrich | 2:30 | |
| Mon | 2/6 | Lakeville South | 5-3 | W | Hasse Arena | 7:00 | |
| Thu | 2/9 | South St. Paul* | 8-2 | W | Aldrich | 7:30 | |
| Sat | 2/11 | North St. Paul* | 5-4 | W | Aldrich | 7:30 | |
| Tue | 2/14 | Tartan* | 5-1 | W | Tartan Arena | 7:30 | |
| Sat | 2/18 | Moorhead | 6-1 | W | Aldrich | 2:30 | |
| . | |||||||
| Section 4AA Playoffs | |||||||
| Sat | 2/25 | Tartan | 6-0 | W | Aldrich | 11 AM | |
| Wed | 2/29 | Stillwater | 4-0 | W | Coliseum | 6:00 | |
| Fri | 3/2 | Roseville | 3-2 | W | Coliseum | 6:00 | |
| . | |||||||
| State Tournament | |||||||
| Thu | 3/8 | Maple Grove | 5-2 | W | Xcel Energy Center | 11 AM | |
| Fri | 3/9 | Moorhead | 2-1 | W (OT) | Xcel Energy Center | 6:00 | |
| Sat | 3/10 | Benilde-St. Margaret's | 1-5 | L | Xcel Energy Center | 7:00 | |
Final Record 24-7-0
State Tournament Bracket
Varsity Roster
Assistant: Pat Schafhauser, Tony Ciro
| No. | Name | Pos. | Grade | Height | Weight | Goals | Assists | Points |
| 1 | John Dugas | G | 11 | 5' 9" | 170 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | Shane Finnegan | D | 11 | 6' 3" | 185 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 6 | Jordan Schwandt | D | 11 | 5' 10" | 170 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 7 | Dan Cashman | F | 12 | 6' 0" | 185 | 3 | 9 | 12 |
| 8 | Zach Mills | F | 9 | 5' 9" | 150 | 3 | 3 | 6 |
| 9 | Logan Sharp | D | 10 | 5' 9" | 165 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| 10 | Brandon Thompson | F | 12 | 5' 11" | 170 | 4 | 1 | 5 |
| 12 | CJ LaChappelle | F | 11 | 5' 10" | 160 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 14 | Charlie Sampair (C) | F | 12 | 6' 0" | 185 | 30 | 21 | 51 |
| 15 | Conrad Sampair | F | 12 | 5' 10" | 175 | 12 | 12 | 24 |
| 16 | Blake Heinrich | D | 11 | 6' 0" | 185 | 11 | 25 | 36 |
| 17 | Jim Tich | F | 11 | 5' 9" | 170 | 3 | 2 | 5 |
| 18 | Willie Brown | F | 10 | 5' 10" | 175 | 17 | 18 | 35 |
| 19 | Andy Faust | F | 12 | 5' 8" | 170 | 16 | 30 | 46 |
| 20 | Jake Guentzel | F | 11 | 5' 9" | 155 | 24 | 50 | 74 |
| 21 | Zach LaValle (C) | F | 11 | 5' 11" | 185 | 28 | 36 | 64 |
| 22 | Dan Dolan | D | 11 | 5' 11" | 175 | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| 24 | Duke Pieper (C) | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 25 | Ryan Black | D | 11 | 5' 9" | 160 | 1 | 7 | 8 |
| 26 | Tyler Funk | F | 10 | 5' 10" | 170 | 5 | 6 | 11 |
| 27 | Sam Becker | F/D | 11 | 5' 10" | 165 | 4 | 13 | 17 |
| 28 | Davis Zarembinski | D | 9 | 5' 10" | 155 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 33 | Travis Neubeck | G | 11 | 6' 1" | 175 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Goalie | Min. | GA | GAA | Saves | Save % | Record | ||
| John Dugas | 1212 | 61 | 2.57 | 537 | 89.8 | 18-7-0 | ||
| Travis Neubeck | 380 | 9 | 1.21 | 160 | 94.7 | 6-0-0 | ||
| Team Stats | Goals | Goals/G | Shots | Shots/G | PP % | PPG | ESG | SHG | ENG |
| Hill-Murray | 166 | 5.4 | 1050 | 33.9 | 34.4 | 42 | 116 | 8 | 2 |
| Opponents | 70 | 2.3 | 767 | 24.7 | 11.5 | 13 | 52 | 5 | 0 |
Mr. Hockey finalist: Charlie Sampair
All tournament team: Conrad Sampair, Blake Heinrich, Sam Becker
AP All-state honorable mention: Charlie Sampair, Blake Heinrich, Jake Guentzel, Zach LaValle
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