Girls Hockey 2025: Hill-Murray forges path into Class AA championship game
Posted: Friday, February 21, 2025 - 9:26 PM
Hill-Murray believes they are on course to peak and end the year on a championship crescendo.
“I can honestly say we are a complete team,” Pioneers head coach John Pohl said.
They are showing it.
Hill-Murray, the No. 3 seed in the Class AA field of the Minnesota State High School League’s Girls Hockey State Tournament, is playing with a gusto that could result in the school’s first big-school state championship in a decade.
Sophomore forward Emily Pohl, daughter of the head coach and assistant coach Krissy (Wendell) Pohl, continued her state tournament tear with two goals and two assists to power the Pioneers to a 5-2 victory over No. 7 Rosemount in the semifinals on Friday, Feb. 21 at the Xcel Energy Center in downtown St. Paul.
Sophomore forward Jaycee Chatleain also had two goals for the Pioneers.
The victory not only sends the Pioneers (24-6-0) to the Class AA championship game for the second consecutive season, it was also their 11th win in a row.
It will be Hill-Murray’s fifth appearance in a Girls Hockey State Championship game. In addition to last season, the Pioneers were also the Class AA runner-up in 2013 and that was followed by a title in 2014.
In this championship appearance, the Pioneers will face either No. 1 Edina, which defeated them a year ago for the title, or No. 5 Holy Family Catholic. Hill-Murray, which doesn’t shy away from scheduling an aggressive non-conference schedule, defeated Holy Family Catholic twice this season and lost twice to Edina.
The Pioneers, playing unselfish hockey, has flourished in the team-oriented game.
Hill-Murray built a 4-1 lead when Pohl scored her second goal. But less than a minute later, Rosemount senior forward Annalee Holzer pulled the Irish (22-8-0) to within two. Chatleain scored her second with 49 seconds left in regulation time.
Rosemount forged the semifinal matchup following an upset victory over No. 2 Centennial/Spring Lake Park in Thursday’s quarterfinals.
