A power play is typically a chance for a team to dazzle the crowd, perform intricate patterns over puck movement and showcase its top personnel.

For Hill-Murray, it’s all about simple execution.

The No. 3 seed Pioneers (24-4-1) executed twice in Thursday’s 4-1 win over Eastview, earning a place in the Class AA state semifinals against second-seeded Blaine. 

“We have basic parameters that we use, but it’s get (the puck) to the net, we’ve got more players out there get the loose puck and the rebounds,” Hill-Murray head coach Bill Schafhauser said.

"Sometimes I think you can overthink the organization of a power play,” Schafhauser continued. “I think we do a good job of using the talents we have on the blue line and the forwards that we have out there.”

The Pioneers have converted on 7 of 11 power play chances in the postseason.

Senior defender and North Dakota commit Taylor Wemple scored two goals in the win for Hill-Murray, with junior Morgan Helgeson adding a second period tally.

Freshman forward Nina Steigauf was credited with a Pioneer goal after an Eastview defender dropped the puck too far back into her own net, making the score 3-1 early in the second.

Eastview coach Herb Harvey said that the own goal was just a byproduct of an unpredictable game.

“Just tell (the players) things like that happen,” Harvey said. “Hockey’s a game of bounces, a game of inches,” Harvey continued. “You really can’t control those things, you just try to pick them back up.”

Senior forward and UConn commit Natalie Snodgrass scored the lone goal for the Lightning (16-11-2) in the first period, and from that point on Pioneer netminder Ava Bailey turned away every Lightning shot.

Before the opening draw of the second period, Bailey could be seen grinning at something freshman goaltender Rachel Kennedy was telling her, a reminder to zero in on the 17 minutes.

“Keep the negativity out and focus on what I have to do,” Bailey said. "That’s kind of our talk before every period.”

The Pioneers will meet Blaine in Friday’s semifinals, a rematch of a Jan. 26 battle that ended in a 4-4 tie.