The tidal wave of green. The sea of orange. The packed arenas and student section hijinks.
There’s no better enduring rivalry in the state than Hill-Murray versus White Bear Lake. Pioneers versus Bears. Private school versus public.
The teams meet once each regular season. Most years, they clash again in the Class 2A, Section 4 playoffs. Often, it is with a state tournament berth on the line. Name every ingredient that goes into a robust rivalry, and they’re all here. Throw in the fact that both teams are unbeaten at roughly the quarter pole of the season, and Tuesday's game at Aldrich Arena sizes up as a thriller in our Top Game of the Week.
Hill-Murray, No. 3 in the Class 2A coaches’ poll from Dec. 12, has been disposing its opponents with ease. After a tight 4-2 triumph over No. 8-2A Blaine in their Nov. 27 opener, the Pioneers (6-0-0, 4-0-0) have won five straight by a combined score of 40-3.
Other than a 2-2 tie with defending Class 2A champion Edina on Dec. 7, White Bear Lake (5-0-1, 4-0-0) has been almost as dominant. The No. 7-2A Bears have shut out three of their opponents and allowed a combined five goals in their other three games.
All of which is to say this could wind up as a goaltenders' duel. White Bear Lake senior Tyler Steffens sits atop the state goaltending leader charts with a .965 save percentage and 0.81 goals against average.
Hill-Murray counters with Remington Keopple, a star in the Upper Midwest High School Elite League this fall, who ranks second in the state with a 1.00 goals against average and fourth with a .946 save percentage.
Probing for cracks in the teams’ granite wall goaltending and defenses will be the likes of Hill-Murray’s Nick Pierre, a sophomore Wisconsin commit who leads the Pioneers with 19 points, and White Bear Lake’s Lleyton Roed, a junior who has team bests of 10 goals and 17 points.