St. Thomas Academy at Hill-Murray
7:30 p.m., Saturday, Jan. 16

Though St. Thomas Academy and Hill-Murray will head to different section tournaments, they will battle it out in the regular season as the favorites to win the Metro East Conference.

The No. 14-2A Cadets (8-4-3, 4-1-0) are perhaps in line for a top seed in the Class 2A, Section 3 tournament. St. Thomas Academy's four losses came to teams currently in Class 2A's top-10 rankings, as it continues to play a challenging nonconference schedule.

Senior forward Billy Jerry leads the Cadets with 12 goals and 13 assists through 14 games.

Hill-Murray also plays a tough nonconference schedule. The No. 11-2A Pioneers (9-4-1, 5-0-0) began the new year with a 6-0 whipping of league foe Hastings, then tied No. 6-2A Edina (3-3) on Saturday night.

Junior forward Marko Reifenberger (12-10-22) leads Hill-Murray in goals and points, while goaltender Jake Begley (7-3, .920, 2.23) has been solid between the pipes.

Saturday night’s game at Maplewood's Aldrich Arena is the first of two conference matchups between the Pioneers and the Cadets, who will meet again Feb. 6 on St. Thomas Academy’s home ice.