Roseau Girls’ Hockey Falls to Hill-Murray in Class AA Quarterfinals

Roseau girls’ hockey is making their first appearance at the state hockey tournament in four years, and on Thursday they tried to get their first opening-round win since 2008. But they had to go through a tough and familiar opponent in Hill-Murray, who beat the Rams back in December and finished the regular season ranked #2 in the state.

In the Class AA quarterfinal match-up of unseeded Roseau and 2-seed Hill-Murray, the Rams in riding a seven-game win streak, while the Pioneers were unbeaten their last eight. The teams were tied up 1-1 in the first period, but Hill-Murray got a goal in the next face-off and would not surrender the lead. The Pioneers ultimately beat the Rams 8-2, the same score from their mid-season showdown.

After the game, the Rams talked about the team and what they’ve enjoyed most about their trip to the state tourney.

“I’m super proud of the effort we put in,” said head coach Amanda Giles. “I couldn’t be more proud of how they battled back and didn’t quit the game.”

“It’s also kind of cool, especially because we don’t get down here as much as we probably could,” said freshman forward Ella Ketring. “But it’s also cool because us getting here, those little girls, I was like, ‘Oh, when I get up there, I’m going to do that, too.'”

“We had a big school walkthrough before we left and it was just cool to see, like, all the kids, like looking up to us as we walked through the halls,” added senior goalie Jada Pelowski.

Roseau’s time at the X may be over, but they move to the consolation bracket, where they’ll face Rosemount on Friday, Feb. 23 at the TRIA Rink. Game time is 10 a.m.