When it comes to coaching philosophy in high school hockey, you could find a worse brain to pick than Willard Ikola’s, the legendary Edina coach and state’s leader in career coaching victories with 616. 

“Willard Ikola told me once, ‘keep the game simple,’” Hill-Murray head coach Bill Lechner said on Tuesday night after his Pioneers edged Elk River 4-2. “This is our forecheck, this is our neutral, this is or d-zone,” Lechner added, echoing more of Ikola’s advice. “Be better at it than us and you’ll win.”

Through 17 games, only one team has been better than the Pioneers at their own game, with the only blemish on their resume a 2-1 loss to Minnetonka on Dec. 31.

Since that loss to the Skippers, the Pioneers have won seven straight games, including victories over three teams ranked in the latest Class AA state coaches’ poll in No. 10 St. Thomas Academy, No. 2 Edina and the No. 3 Elks.

“I think we’ve just kind of found our identity,” senior forward and Pioneer captain Kyler Yeo said after recording a goal and an assist in the win over the Elks. “We know we don’t have 20 Sidney Crosby’s out there,” Yeo continued, borrowing the line from Lechner. “We just know have to go out there and bang bodies, keep it simple.”

The No. 4 Pioneers rely far more on execution than a razzle-dazzle fast-break style of play, by Lechner’s design.

“The more that you can simplify it, simplify the systems, then the kids can move instead of having to stop and think about it,” Lechner said. “Hockey’s the wrong game to quit moving your feet and be thinking about it,” Lechner added.

Senior forward Brock Bremer drew first blood for the Pioneers (13-1-3), with sophomore forward Joe Quast and senior forward Anthony Betti adding goals of their own.

Senior forward Jax Murray and junior forward Tommy Laabs recorded goals for Elk River (14-4-0).

The Pioneers’ success has been somewhat of a surprise on paper, after last season’s leading scorers Marko Reifenberger and Dylan Mills opted not to return to the Hill-Murray lineup, but Lechner says that the team has embraced its largely ignored ascent.

“It’s been nice to kind of fly under the radar, but we’re climbing,” Lechner said.