IN THE NEWS: Hill-Murray vs. St. Thomas Academy

Courtesy of the Star Tribune

Final celebration goes to Hill-Murray

by Dean Spiros

St. Thomas Academy was so close to a league title it could feel the thrill, but now it's the Pioneers who are on the verge.

It was a celebration as much as a hockey game, a tip of the stocking cap on Saturday to the state's lingering love affair with the sport as part of an event called Hockey Day Minnesota.

The boys' teams from Hill-Murray and St. Thomas Academy arrived pleased to be a part of it, and probably more than a little thankful they were competing amid the splendor of Xcel Energy Center, and not in the great outdoors.

Yet there were the St. Thomas Academy Cadets leaving the X by mid afternoon looking as if their invitation had been lost in the mail.

On a day they had long been looking forward to, in a game they had planned to be a coming of age of sorts, the Cadets were left wondering how so much good could turn so bad in such a short time.

Less than 14 seconds from a victory and a conference championship, St. Thomas Academy surrendered two goals and fell 4-3 in overtime to Hill-Murray.Read the rest of the story here.