Andover’s Gavyn Thoreson isn’t an easy teammate to always love.

“I hate the kid but at the same time I love him,” Huskies defenseman Weston Knox said. “He’s always the kid under your skin, but what he does on the ice is just amazing.”

Thoreson, who scored in double overtime to beat Moorhead on Thursday, tallied two goals, including an empty-net goal that sealed a 4-2 semifinal upset of No. 1 seed Hill-Murray (24-5-1) in the boys' hockey state tournament at Xcel Energy Center.

Andover showed veteran poise in the program’s first state tournament semifinal. No. 5 seed Andover (24-5-1) faces No. 3 seed Maple Grove in the Class 2A state championship game at 7 p.m. Saturday.

In the first period, Thoreson picked up his team-leading 27th goal of the season. And for the second consecutive tournament game, the Pioneers faced an early deficit. Caden Sampair evened things up in the second period.

The Huskies regained a 2-1 lead on Logan Gravink’s goal.

With 10 seconds remaining in the second period, Thoreson found teammate Cayden Casey, a Star Tribune All-Metro first-team selection, for a 3-1 lead.

Hill-Murray Mr. Hockey finalist Dylan Godbout closed the gap with a goal at 2:54 of the third period. But Thoreson later hit the empty net.

“We didn’t play our game in the first period,” Pioneers coach Bill Lechner said. “We were prepared, but we didn’t play together. Sometimes the best play is working with your teammates. We had a little bit of that.”