Quantcast
skip navigation

Strobel scores twice in the third to help lift Hill-Murray over Blaine in season opener

By Loren Nelson, SportsEngine, 11/27/19, 1:00PM CST

Share

After letting a two-goal lead slip, the Pioneers needed senior forward Charlie Strobel and his eventual game-winner to beat the Bengals.


Hill-Murray senior goaltender Remington Keopple made 25 saves against Blaine on Wednesday night, including this one on Bengals forward Hunter Hanson. Photo by Loren Nelson, LegacyHockeyPhotography.com

When other players tanks’ are approaching empty, Charlie Strobel’s is still topped off.

When they lose a step in the late going, he gains two.

They look for to the bench for relief. He longs for extra ice time.

“If he had his way, he’d want to be out there for 51 minutes,” Hill-Murray coach Bill Lechner said after the Pioneers’ 4-2 victory over Blaine on Wednesday night at Aldrich Arena.

Strobel didn’t play the full game in the season opener for both teams. He made an impact just the same. The senior forward and co-captain scored twice for the Pioneers with — surprise, surprise — both goals coming in the third period.


Charlie Strobel, left, is welcomed to the bench by Henry Eischen after Strobel's goal put Hill-Murray ahead of Blaine 4-2 in the third period. Photo by Loren Nelson, LegacyHockeyPhotography.com

First Report

Charlie Strobel scored twice in the third period and Remington Keopple made 25 saves on Wednesday to lead Hill-Murray, ranked No. 9 in the Class 2A coaches’ poll, to a 4-2 victory over No. 8-2A Blaine at Aldrich Arena in the season opener for both teams.

Strobel, a senior forward, scored 43 seconds into the third to break a 2-2 tie. He added an insurance goal with 3:40 remaining, firing home a pass from behind the net from linemate Nick Pierre to complete the scoring.

Strobel’s performance offset a two-goal effort from Blaine senior Carsen Richels, a senior who had 42 goals and 83 points last season. Richels scored both his goals in the second period as the Bengals, a state tournament qualifier last season, rallied from a two-goal deficit.

Keopple, a senior, made several difficult saves on Richels and linemates Cole Hansen and Jack Reimann and was the benefactor of a handful of Bengals shots that clanged off the goalposts and crossbar.

Nate Hardy opened the scoring for Hill-Murray. His deflection from the slot was the lone goal in the first period. 

Blaine’s Jonah Simonson finished with 21 saves.


Blaine's Carsen Richels fires the puck just under the crossbar for his second goal of the game on Wednesday night against Hill-Murray. Photo by Loren Nelson, LegacyHockeyPhotography.com

The MN Hockey Hub poll is for entertainment purposes only.

Hockey Hub Headlines

Feed for https://www.startribune.com/sports/index.rss2