2007-2008 Hill-Murray Hockey
Section 4AA Champion
Classic Suburban Champion
- The Pioneers played their best hockey of the season in March, and finished with victories over the state's top two ranked teams to become the state champion.
- Hill-Murray was the first team since '93 Jefferson to win all three of its tournament games by at least three goals. Two of the tournament victories were shutouts, including the championship win over Edina. The semifinal win over Roseau ended the Rams' 42 game win streak that began the previous season.
- The Pioneers never trailed in the playoffs and allowed four goals in six games. The closest game on the scoreboard was a 2-1 contest against White Bear Lake, the third straight year the Pioneers topped the Bears in the section final.
- This was the first season Hill-Murray did not play in Section 3; a renumbering of metro area sections put them in 4.
- Hill-Murray played St. Thomas Academy at the Xcel Center as part of Minnesota Hockey Day on Feb. 9, a game that was telecast statewide. The Pioneers won in overtime after scoring the tying goal with an extra attacker and 13 seconds remaining. The win put Hill-Murray atop the conference standings by a half game with one to play, a 5-4 win against Mahtomedi that clinched the title. St. Thomas went on to win the Class A championship.
- Hill-Murray played seven games at the Xcel Center and won all but the Schwan Cup championship game in December.
- The team posted the second highest goal scoring total in school history (196), tied a school record by allowing two goals in the section playoffs, broke the school record for goals allowed in a state tournament (2), and finished with the best goal differential in the state (+150).
- Joe Phillippi was named the state's top senior goaltender and finished four seasons as the team's starting goalie. He backstopped three consecutive section championships and finished with a record of 63-11-3.
- On Dec. 22, the 25-year anniversary of the 1983 undefeated season was commemorated. The 2008 Pioneers marked the occasion by unveiling new black alternate uniforms and went 6-0 when they wore them, all against quality opponents.
| Day | Date | Opponent | Score | Location | Time | ||
| Thu | 11/29 | Wayzata | 5-0 | W | Aldrich | 8:00 | |
| Tue | 12/4 | Benilde-St. Margaret's | 3-1 | W | Aldrich | 8:00 | |
| Fri | 12/7 | Henry Sibley* | 15-1 | W | Wakota Arena | 7:30 | |
| Mon | 12/10 | Park | 11-0 | W | Coliseum | 8:00 | |
| Thu | 12/13 | North St. Paul* | 11-3 | W | Aldrich | 8:00 | |
| Sat | 12/15 | Tartan* | 2-3 | L | Tartan Arena | 3:00 | |
| Thu | 12/20 | South St. Paul* | 7-0 | W | Aldrich | 8:00 | |
| Sat | 12/22 | White Bear Lake | 5-2 | W | Aldrich | 8:00 | |
| Wed | 12/26 | Duluth East | 5-1 | W | Xcel Energy Center | 2:30 | |
| Thu | 12/27 | White Bear Lake | 6-3 | W | Xcel Energy Center | 6:00 | |
| Fri | 12/28 | Minnetonka | 1-4 | L | Xcel Energy Center | 8:45 | |
| Thu | 1/3 | Richfield* | 11-1 | W | Richfield Arena | 7:30 | |
| Sat | 1/5 | Simley* | 12-2 | W | Aldrich | 3:00 | |
| Thu | 1/10 | St. Thomas Academy* | 4-2 | W | St. Thomas Arena | 7:30 | |
| Sat | 1/12 | Mahtomedi* | 3-1 | W | Aldrich | 8:00 | |
| Tue | 1/15 | Holy Angels | 4-5 | L | Aldrich | 8:00 | |
| Sat | 1/19 | Henry Sibley* | 9-0 | W | Aldrich | 3:00 | |
| Thu | 1/24 | North St. Paul* | 14-0 | W | Polar Arena | 7:30 | |
| Sat | 1/26 | Tartan* | 6-0 | W | Aldrich | 8:00 | |
| Thu | 1/31 | South St. Paul* | 2-2 | T (OT) | Wakota Arena | 7:30 | |
| Sat | 2/2 | Richfield* | 9-1 | W | Aldrich | 3:00 | |
| Thu | 2/7 | Simley* | 9-0 | W | Veterans Center (IGH) | 7:30 | |
| Sat | 2/9 | St. Thomas Academy* | 4-3 | W (OT) | Xcel Energy Center | 1:00 | |
| Tue | 2/12 | Mahtomedi* | 5-4 | W | St. Croix RC | 7:30 | |
| Sat | 2/16 | Moorhead | 4-3 | W | Moorhead | 4:00 | |
| . | |||||||
| Section 4AA Playoffs | |||||||
| Sat | 2/23 | North St. Paul | 8-0 | W | Aldrich | 12:00 | |
| Tue | 2/26 | Mounds View | 7-1 | W | Coliseum | 6:00 | |
| Fri | 2/29 | White Bear Lake | 2-1 | W | Coliseum | 9:00 | |
| . | |||||||
| State Tournament | |||||||
| Thu | 3/6 | Lakeville South | 3-0 | W | Xcel Energy Center | 8:00 | |
| Fri | 3/7 | Roseau | 6-2 | W | Xcel Energy Center | 8:00 | |
| Sat | 3/8 | Edina | 3-0 | W | Xcel Energy Center | 7:00 | |
Final Record 27-3-1
Section 4AA Bracket
Varsity Roster
Assistant: Pat Schafhauser, Matt Millar
| No. | Name | Pos. | Grade | Height | Weight | Goals | Assists | Points |
| 1 | Kirk McGinley | G | 11 | 6' 1" | 210 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 6 | Chris Casto | D | 10 | 6' 0" | 185 | 2 | 10 | 12 |
| 7 | Tyler Zepeda | F | 11 | 5' 9" | 155 | 14 | 32 | 46 |
| 9 | Nick Widing | F | 11 | 5' 11" | 200 | 20 | 24 | 44 |
| 10 | Paul Prescott | F | 11 | 5' 8" | 170 | 6 | 15 | 21 |
| 11 | Isaac Kohls | F | 11 | 5' 9" | 185 | 20 | 31 | 51 |
| 12 | Ryan Furne (C) | F | 12 | 6' 1" | 195 | 30 | 29 | 59 |
| 13 | Delaney "Lou" Metcalf | F | 12 | 5' 7" | 175 | 15 | 14 | 29 |
| 14 | Alex Kelly | D | 11 | 5' 11" | 170 | 2 | 11 | 13 |
| 15 | Monte French | F | 11 | 6' 0" | 175 | 5 | 3 | 8 |
| 16 | Jordan Johnson | D | 10 | 5' 11" | 170 | 3 | 10 | 13 |
| 18 | Dave Cascalenda | F | 12 | 6' 0" | 190 | 6 | 8 | 14 |
| 19 | Jeff Westerhaus | F | 11 | 6' 0" | 180 | 10 | 11 | 21 |
| 20 | Bo Dolan (C) | D | 12 | 5' 11" | 180 | 5 | 21 | 26 |
| 21 | Jeff Sonntag | F | 12 | 5' 10" | 190 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 22 | Dan Cecka | F | 12 | 5' 11" | 190 | 32 | 33 | 65 |
| 24 | Dan Sova | D | 12 | 6' 3" | 215 | 11 | 31 | 42 |
| 25 | Jonathan Stadler | D | 11 | 6' 1" | 200 | 1 | 4 | 5 |
| 27 | Andy Singerhouse | F | 12 | 5' 11" | 190 | 13 | 20 | 33 |
| 28 | Jack Walsh | F | 10 | 6' 1" | 170 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 33 | Joe Phillippi (C) | G | 12 | 5' 9" | 170 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Goalie | Min. | GA | GAA | Saves | Save % | Record | ||
| Joe Phillippi | 1421 | 42 | 1.51 | 562 | 93.0 | 24-3-1 | ||
| Kirk McGinley | 161 | 3 | 0.95 | 37 | 92.5 | 3-0-0 | ||
| Team Stats | Goals | Goals/G | Shots | Shots/G | PP % | PPG | ESG | SHG | ENG |
| Hill-Murray | 196 | 6.3 | 1095 | 35.3 | 34.5 | 38 | 145 | 13 | 3 |
| Opponents | 46 | 1.5 | 645 | 20.8 | 8.1 | 11 | 33 | 2 | 1 |
Frank Brimsek Award: Joe Phillippi
Herb Brooks Award: Joe Phillippi
Pioneer Press All-state first team: Dan Cecka, Joe Phillippi
Honorable mention: Ryan Furne, Dan Sova
Star Tribune All-metro team: Joe Phillippi (1st team), Dan Cecka (3rd team)
All-tournament team: Dan Cecka, Ryan Furne, Joe Phillippi, Dan Sova
Above photos courtesy Twin Cities photography.
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