Olivia Boyer’s first varsity goal almost didn’t happen. 

Standing on the glove side of Holy Family Catholic goaltender Sedona Blair, the Hill-Murray sophomore corralled a rebound, then fumbled the puck. 

“I thought this is too good to be true,” Boyer said. “I was like, ‘I can’t mess this up.’”

Boyer adjusted and rifled a shot past Blair into a half-open Fire net for the eventual game-winning goal, as the No. 10-ranked Pioneers moved to 2-0 with a 3-2 win over the Fire (2-1).

“I was just so happy,” Boyer said of her goal. “I thought I was going to miss. Having everyone come high-five me, it was great.”

The teams battled to a 2-1 Pioneer advantage after two periods, with the Fire capitalizing on a somewhat sluggish Pioneer group for an ice-breaking goal late in the second frame by senior forward Caitlin Rock.

Grayson Limke also scored for the Fire, tying the game in the third period. 

“We definitely came out flat in the second period,” Hill-Murray co-Head Coach Caesare Engstrom said. “We actually tried to pump them up in the locker room to not come out flat, but obviously it didn’t work,” Engstrom added with a chuckle. 

Senior forward Alex Belde drew first blood for the Pioneers, scoring from close range in the slot off a pass from senior forward and Quinnipiac verbal commit Nina Steigauf. 

Steigauf, Hill-Murray’s highest-scoring returner from the 2018-2019 squad, showed her ability to dominate play on a handful of shifts during the game, including a sequence in which she carried the puck out of her zone before finishing a two-on-one by herself for the Pioneers’ second tally.

Now in her 13th season coaching in the Hill-Murray program, Engstrom has seen her share of star players but said that the Pioneers have learned quickly to not merely hand Steigauf the puck and expect her to create a scoring chance. 

“The girls have been pretty good this year with grasping the strategy we’ve tried to establish for them this season,” Engstrom said. “Nina’s obviously a key player in a lot of (our strategy), but I think they know that they all have their roles.”