STILLWATER - Senior forward Boden Sampair scored three goals in the opening 7:03 and Hill-Murray's defense and goaltending took over from there in a 3-1 Pioneers' victory over Stillwater on Saturday at St. Croix Valley Recreation Center.
The victory between the Section 4AA rivals likely cements No. 4-2A Hill-Murray (17-1-1) as the No. 1-seed in the section playoffs.
Sampair's three goals give him a team-best 27 on the season, tied for fourth most in the state.
Grayson Hanggi made 31 saves for Hill-Murray, including some spectacular stops in the third period as No. 9-2A Stillwater (14-4-0) cranked up the offensive pressure.
Brody Dustin scored the lone goal for Stillwater, which got 19 saves from Landon Huber.
SHAKOPEE - The roller coasters and other thrill rides at Valleyfair serving as the backdrop for the Hockey Day outdoor game didn't inspire a wild back-and-forth matchup between Shakopee and Maple Grove, as the hometown Sabres were in control throughout en route to a 5-1 victory.
Cooper Simpson, Tristin Wassengeso and Cooper Siegert each had a goal and an assist for the No. 13-2A Sabers (14-5-1).
The loss dropped No. 18-2A Maple Grove to (10-7-1).
WARROAD - Wyatt Hennum scored with 4:29 to play to give Warroad a 4-3 win over Northfield in a matchup of top-10 ranked teams at The Gardens Arena.
Hennum grabbed a loose puck in the corner to the right of the Northfield goal, hit the brakes and reversed direction to free himself from a Raiders defender then fired a low shot past goaltender Max Frank.
No. 3-1A Warroad (13-5-1) led 3-1 after the first period on goals by Taven James, Ryan Lee and Michael Stewart. No. 7-1A Northfield (14-3-1) rallied to tie it at 3-3 on second-period goals by Will Cashin and Carter Simon.
The win was the 238th in the 13-year career of Warroad coach Jay Hardwick, the most by any coach in the program's history.
HERMANTOWN - Bryce Francisco made 24 saves to record his state-leading sixth shutout of the season as Hermantown defeated Mahtomedi 4-0 at Hermantown Arena.
Francisco, who leads the state with a .948 save percentage, recorded his 12th win of the season for No. 1-1A Hermantown.
River Freeman and Alex Nicklin each had a goal and an assist for the Hawks (13-5-3), who scored three times in the first period.
Wes Strub made 31 saves for No. 11-1A Mahtomedi (6-11-2).
SHAKOPEE - Adam Thomas scored with 7:41 to play to give Eden Prairie a 4-2 lead as the Eagles held on for a 4-3 win over Hibbing/Chisholm at Valleyfair in an outdoor contest.
No. 16-2A Eden Prairie (10-7-2) scored twice in the second to take a 2-1 lead before Chase Klute's second goal of the game made it 3-1.
No. 4-1A Hibbing/Chisholm (12-8-0) answered with a goal by Andrew Sundquist before Thomas' goal. Jace Kampsula's second goal of the game came with 1:36 to play to complete the scoring. Kampsula leads the Bluejackets with 15 goals.
HALLOCK - Peyton Mithun, Cooper Ness and Carson Davis each scored two goals at Wadena-Deer Creek scored five goals in the first period and never looked back in a 9-7 win over Kittson County Central at Hallock Ice Arena.
Mithun and Davis scored their goals in the first as Wadena-Deer Creek (4-13-0) led 5-3.
The teams traded goals in the second as Kittson County Central (5-11-1) rallied to trail 7-6 when Isaac Gustafson scored with 1:48 left.
Ness scored 1 minute into the third period to give the Wolverines an 8-6 lead.
Wadena-Deer Creek has scored six or more goals in each of its last three games, the previous two were losses (7-6 to Park Rapids on Jan. 21 and 9-7 to Moose Lake on Jan. 23).
Wyatt Samuelson scored four goals for Kittson Country Central. He leads the team with 19 goals.
WEST ST. PAUL - Two Rivers scored three-straight goals in the second period and held on for a 3-2 win over Hastings at the West St. Paul Arena.
Hastings (9-9-1) led 1-0 after William Savage's first-period goal before Two Rivers (13-3-2) started its outburst. The Warriors' Ryan Rohrer scored 3:10 into the second and Mathew Heymans followed with a goal 21 seconds later.
Eddie Auran, who leads Two Rivers with 19 goals, scored with 10:01 left in the second but Hastings' Jon Harris scored 24 seconds later to make it 3-2.
Two Rivers outshot Hastings 7-4 in the third.
COLERAINE - Ty Stanchfield's goal 2:21 into overtime capped a Mora/Milaca comeback in its 3-2 win over Greenway at Hodgins-Berardo Arena.
Mora/Milaca (8-11-0) trailed 2-0 after two periods. Charlie Kritzeck scored shorthanded with 7:48 remaining to get the Mustangs on the scoreboard. Mitchell Haase then tied the game with 6:25 remaining in the third.
Jacob Szucs recorded three assists for Mora/Milaca.
Greenway (6-10-1) got goals from Brayden Nielsen and Evan Woodman.
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