Hill-Murray coach Bill Lechner said he knew there were going to be some ugly moments when his Pioneers, ranked No. 4 in the latest Class 2A coaches poll, visited No. 8 Benilde-St. Margaret’s.

It had been two weeks since Hill-Murray played its first game of the season, a one-goal win against No. 9 Burnsville.

Saturday's game didn't start well. The Red Knights bolted to an early two-goal lead.

“We knew what we were getting into,” Lechner said. “We had a little talk after the first, got some things straightened out and played much better in the second and third.”

Senior captain Zach Mills led the Pioneer charge with two third-period goals, including the game-winner as Hill-Murray defeated Benilde-St. Margaret’s 5-3 at the St. Louis Park Rec Center.

Mills' game-winner came with 6:21 left in the third, and it typified how he played all afternoon. Marko Reifenberger took a shot just from just inside the blue line, and the puck sat seemingly innocently behind the net to the left of Red Knights’ goalie Ryan Bischel.

Mills alertly shot the puck at Bischel, deflecting it off his leg and into the net.

“I just saw a chance to bank it off him and did it,” Mills said. “It was the right time to do something like that.”

Mills' goal came five minutes after he scored his first, muscling his way through a bevy of Red Knights players in front of their goal. He slid a shot along the ice past Bischel to finally get the Pioneers back to even footing.

“He has been a varsity player for over three years,” Lechner said. “He knows what it takes and has heard every lecture from me.”

Mills wasn't only a force in the offensive zone. His veteran presence was noticeable on the penalty kill where he nearly scored shorthanded in the first but, more importantly, took care of business in the Pioneers' zone.

He blocked shots, cleared away loose pucks and helped Hill-Murray get out of its early rut.

“It was tough to get up and going,” Mills said. “We had a bit of a layoff, but once we got going we were fine, and when we tied the game up, were were all pretty excited.”

Reifenberger added an empty net goal with 13 seconds left in the third to seal the victory and send Hill-Murray home with the big road win.

“Anytime you go on the road against a top 10 team and win, it's a huge one,” Mills said. “We feel good about this one, especially since its only our second game of the season.”

Before to the game, former Benilde-St. Margaret's player Jack Jablonski, who suffered a paralyzing injury in a game on Dec. 30, 2011 after taking a hit from behind, had his No. 13 retired in a pregame ceremony.

Red Knights coach Ken Pauly led the ceremony, during which all the Red Knights players took the ice alongside Jablonski’s younger brother Max, a sophomore on the junior varsity team, wearing the No. 13.

Per Pauly’s instructions, Max skated over to the Red Knights bench and unveiled the No. 13 in the St. Louis Park Rec Center’s rafters.

Before Pauly hugged Jablonski, he recalled a memory he had prior to Benilde-St. Margaret’s first game after Jablonski’s injury.

In his pregame speech he told his players that Jablonski would be the most important player in their program's history.

That season, the Red Knights would go on to win the state Class 2A title against the Pioneers.

Zach Mills and Marko Reifenberger scored two goals each as Hill-Murray ranked No. 4 in the Class 2A coaches poll, defeated No. 8 Benilde-St. Margaret’s 5-3 on Saturday at the St. Louis Park Center.

Both of Mills’ goals came in the third period, which included the tying and winning goals. The game-winner came with 6:21 left in the third.

The Red Knights (2-2-0) led 3-1 after the first period. In the second, senior Sean Wendlandt replaced sophomore Jake Begley in net for Hill-Murray (2-0-0).

The Pioneers host Hibbing/Chisholm on Tuesday.

Benilde-St. Margaret’s does not play until Dec. 12 when it travels to No. 7 Eden Prairie.

Spotlight Game Coverage