High School Hockey: Hill-Murray poised for another run following abrupt exit last season

Walk through the players lounge tucked into what they call the Zamboni end of Aldrich Arena in Maplewood and the memories of Hill-Murray hockey come at you like waves crashing on a windy beach The framed jerseys date back to the s when private schools could not yet compete in the Minnesota State High School League They commemorate when an unbeaten Pioneers company became the first non-public state champ They show the school s largest part latest state prep title in amid the myriad moments that fans and alumni love to savor The - season looked for a time like it would be another chapter in that book of triumphant memories Instead as coach Bill Lechner and his assistants put the finishing touches on the coming season s roster the abrupt end of the previous campaign is something they re trying to forget and move past Last season s Pioneers were a juggernaut even by the lofty standards the initiative has set They averaged better than six goals per tournament on the way to winning of regular-season contests with a tie and two one-goal losses to St Thomas Academy and Edina to their credit Hill-Murray opened the playoffs with - and - wins Then it all came crashing down In the section final the Pioneers fell to neighborhood rival Stillwater in double overtime then had to watch the Ponies march to the state title contest There Stillwater lost to Moorhead a band Hill-Murray had beaten to close the regular season Even eight months later the painful memories are inevitably there It sticks And perhaps shouldn t in the scheme of life and all the things that go on in the world announced Lechner who has been the Pioneers head coach since after running the show at Stillwater for the five seasons before that It s a bump in the road But in this world I couldn t wait until Monday to get going and try and start erasing that moment Over the summer Lechner s project got a taste of the new world of hockey evolution for the - to -year-old crowd Three players that could have returned for another season with the Pioneers headed elsewhere defenseman Carson Scott is playing for the USA Hockey National Organization Progress Operation in Michigan defenseman Casper Lang headed to junior hockey in British Columbia and high-scoring forward Riley Zupfer elected to spend the entire season with Des Moines in the USHL after his original plan was to return to Hill-Murray for his senior season It s all trickling down Lechner revealed referring to the change in NCAA rules a year ago that added Canadian major junior hockey as an option for players interested in college hockey If you look around and you talk to the Minnetonkas and Edinas they re plucking a couple of the top guys and they re getting them Still the coach likes the Pioneers experience in goal with Grayson Hanggi back for his senior year after winning games last season With good size and better numbers Hanggi is considered by numerous as a candidate for the Frank Brimsek Award given to the state s top senior goalie The band s offensive experience starts with senior Chaz Lentz who averaged better than two points per battle last season and is easing into a leadership role It will be different admitted Lentz who cut his teeth in the Cottage Grove youth hockey system I ve got to step up my challenge to the next level It s fresh guys younger guys and we re the guys that they look up to In Lentz Lechner sees a versatile member who will center the Pioneers top line and is calm and productive in just about any offensive role He s got great hands great instincts He has got to get bigger and stronger but they all do stated the coach Anywhere you want him he ll do whatever you want After tune-up scrimmages versus Shakopee and Cretin-Derham Hall the puck drops for real on Nov with a visit to Eden Prairie The Pioneers home opener is Nov when Class A power Hermantown visits Aldrich Lentz explained that every competition feels big when you get used to being perceived as the enemy like Hill-Murray is everywhere they go but games versus White Bear Lake and Edina and the rematch versus Stillwater are all circled on majority Pioneers calendars As he works to get past the disappointment of their majority of up-to-date tournament Lechner savors the chance to reload and give it another run with a new group of Pioneers We re not one-and-done It s Hill-Murray he noted If we re not being talked about every year I don t have a job to be blunt Related Articles High School Football Thursday s state semifinal predictions High School Football How Lakeville South s deep connections spurred a deep playoff run Park quarterback heading to Super Bowl as NFL award finalist National Signing Day Where are area high school athletes signing to play in college A football town River Falls Wildcats and Falcons reaching new heights