Nearly 30 years ago, a Godbout and a Strobel led the Hill-Murray Pioneers to a boys hockey state championship, topping Duluth East 5-3 in the last year that the Minnesota State High School League used a single-class format. 

On Saturday night, a Godbout and a Strobel will once again do their best to lead their Pioneers to the same conclusion. 

Charlie Strobel, son of Mike, scored with just under 30 seconds to play in overtime to lift Hill-Murray to a 3-2 win over St. Thomas Academy in the Class AA State Tournament semifinals. Dylan Godbout, son of Jason, scored the Pioneers' other two goals in the victory. 

"It's pretty cool to have Dylan on my team," Charlie said after the game. "We're good buddies, so it's kind of fitting."

"It's unbelievable to play with this kid," Godbout added of Strobel. "Out dads having a good past makes it even better."

The No. 5 seed Pioneers jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first period on Godbout's goals, taking advantage of a perhaps drained Cadets group that had knocked off top-seeded Andover the night before. 

"I felt like maybe we were a little emotionally fatigued in the first," St. Thomas Academy coach Trent Eigner said. "I guess when you win a game like you do last night, your worst fear is that the kids get to hear for however many hours how great that was," Eigner continued. "Deservedly so, because it was great, but you have to be able to emotionally and physically recover."

Goals from Riley O'Brien and an officially-reviewed score by Charlie Killian tied the game for St. Thomas Academy, with the unseeded Cadets (19-9-2) seemingly with a grip on the game's momentum.

But Hill-Murray (21-6-3) outshot the Cadets 9-0 in the overtime period, winning the majority of puck-races and pounding away on the St. Thomas Academy net. 

"It makes you feel good as a coach that they were prepared for overtime," longtime Hill-Murray coach Bill Lechner said. "I really, truly, could tell that they weren't going to let this one go."

Matthew Fleischhacker let fly a shot from the point during the extra session that bounced off Cadet goaltender Tommy Aitken's chest and into the slot, where Strobel was there to shovel it home. 

"It's special," Lechner said of a senior, captain, and legacy player netting the game-winner.

Lechner squeezed the back of Strobel's neck the way a father does when he's proud of his son in front of an audience.  

"We got other leaders, we've got great young guys that work together, but Charlie is the heartbeat of our team."