2005-2006 Hill-Murray Hockey


State 4th Place
Section 3AA Champion
Classic Suburban Conference Champion
Schwan Cup Silver Division Champion
  • The Pioneers won their first 16 games, finished the regular season 23-1-1, and were ranked #2 statewide for most of the year.  They played #1 Holy Angels to a tie before a packed house at Aldrich Arena on January 21.  The loss was to eventual Class A champion St. Thomas Academy.
  • Hill-Murray took the top seed in Section 3 for the first time since 1999 and won it for the first time since 2002, but needed double overtime to do it.  Bryant Skarda tipped Derek McCallum's long shot into the upper corner to put Hill-Murray in its 20th MSHSL state tournament.
  • Junior Nick Larson scored a hat trick in the state quarterfinal against Minnetonka, had five goals overall in the tournament, and was named to the All-tournament team.
  • The team's top four defensemen - Bill Leier, Derek McCallum, Gabe Guentzel, and Mac Garceau - had already earned nine varsity letters among them prior to this season.
  • The December 6 game against White Bear Lake was the first statewide telecast of a high school hockey game by Fox Sports Net.  Play-by-play was done by Anthony LaPanta, who had honed his skills broadcasting many Hill-Murray games on local cable television in the '90s.  Color commentator Kevin Gorg was the goalie for the Burnsville team that defeated Hill-Murray 4-3 in the 1985 state championship game.
  • Junior Mike Hoeffel amassed 114 points in two seasons and played four seasons at the University of Minnesota.
  • Sniper and shorthanded specialist Brian Arrigoni finished his three year career with 65 goals (including 14 shorthanded) and 112 points. He later became at All-American at Hamline where he finished among the school's all time scoring leaders.
  • Defenseman and captain Derek McCallum finished a four year career with 91 points and went to the University of Minnesota on a baseball scholarship.

DateOpponentScoreLocation
12/1Wayzata8-1WAldrich
12/3St. Paul Johnson4-0WPhalen Arena
12/6White Bear Lake1-0WAldrich
12/10South St. Paul*5-0WWakota Arena
12/15St. Thomas Academy*8-5WSt. Thomas Arena
12/17Tartan*4-2WTartan Arena
12/20Benilde-St. Margaret's7-2WAldrich
12/22North St. Paul*5-3WAldrich
12/27Maple Grove5-2WAldrich
12/28Edina7-1WAldrich
12/29Brainerd6-1WXcel Energy Center
1/5Richfield*7-0WRichfield Arena
1/7Mahtomedi*7-4WSt. Croix RC
1/12Henry Sibley*8-0WWest St. Paul Arena
1/14Simley*14-0WAldrich
1/17South St. Paul*12-0WAldrich
1/21Holy Angels3-3T (OT)Aldrich
1/26St. Thomas Academy*4-5LAldrich
1/28Tartan*6-0WAldrich
2/2North St. Paul*8-1WPolar Arena
2/4Richfield*7-0WAldrich
2/7Mahtomedi*8-1WAldrich
2/11Henry Sibley*6-0WAldrich
2/15Simley*7-0WVeterans Center (IGH)
2/18Moorhead6-3WMoorhead
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Section 3AA Playoffs
2/25Mounds View6-0WAldrich
2/28Roseville5-1WColiseum
3/3White Bear Lake5-4W (2OT)Coliseum
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State Tournament
3/9Minnetonka5-4WXcel Energy Center
3/10Grand Rapids2-3LXcel Energy Center
3/11Blaine2-4LXcel Energy Center

Final Record 27-3-1

Classic Suburban Conference Standings

Section 3AA Playoff Bracket

State Tournament Bracket



Varsity Roster


Coach: Bill Lechner
Assistant: Pat Schafhauser, Tony Flint

No.NamePos.GradeHeightWeightGoalsAssistsPoints
1Tom O'BrienG125' 10" 180000
2Bill Leier (C)D125' 10" 18021214
6Justin KlimekF126' 0" 165314
7Tyler ZepedaF95' 7" 14071219
9Derek McCallum (C)D126' 0" 180123042
10Tony DannaD116' 0" 1851910
11Mike HoeffelF116' 2" 180264470
14Bryant SkardaF125' 11" 180252247
15Nick KohlerF125' 11" 180224
16Kevin CassidyF125' 10" 165459
17Matt ShaughnessyF125' 10" 175156
18Nick LarsonF116' 2" 185413879
19Joey McEnaney (C)F125' 7" 160152035
20Gabe GuentzelD125' 11" 17592938
24Nick PryorD95' 10" 165134
25Mac GarceauD126' 0" 175178
26Brian ArrigoniF125' 9" 170302252
27Tory PearsonF116' 1" 185022
28Vince UnklesbayF125' 10" 1708816
33Joe PhillippiG105' 9" 160000

GoalieMin.GAGAASavesSave %Record
Joe Phillippi1005351.7831990.117-1-1
Tom O'Brien596141.2016292.010-2-0

Team StatsGoalsGoals/GShotsShots/GPP %PPGESGSHGENG
Hill-Murray1886.1119138.4120.641136112
Opponents501.653117.132.6153231


Pioneer Press All-state team: Derek McCallum, Nick Larson
All-state honorable mention: Mike Hoeffel, Bryant Skarda, Gabe Guentzel, Brian Arrigoni, Joe Phillippi
Star-Tribune All-metro first team: Mike Hoeffel
All-tournament team: Derek McCallum, Nick Larson


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