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Breck, which has won four Class 1A state championships, lost 47 games and won only 19 in a three-season span from 2020-21 to 2022-23. The Mustangs have also won just a single Section 5A playoff game in this span after winning the Class 1A championship in 2020.

The 2023-24 season, however, has been an improvement over the previous three. With two games remaining in its regular season, Breck has a record of 17-6, averaging 4 goals per game while maintaining a team goals-against average of 1.74.

Mustangs head coach Tricia Luoma took over the program in 2021. Luoma skated for the U.S. Women’s National Team in three Winter Olympics and won two medals. As a player, she was a penalty-kill specialist.

Eighth-grader Taylor Hall is Breck’s leading scorer. (MHM Photo / Rick Olson)

“This is exciting for these players to see the big picture and the wins on the scoreboard after enduring a couple years of tough seasons,” Luoma said. “Our strength is that we have speed. We are fast. We are creative. At times, we are relentless. We’re working on being gritty all the time.”

Breck’s defense has allowed two goals or fewer in 10 consecutive games since its Dec. 29 win over Blake. Senior goalie Mackenzie Abbott has posted back-to-back shutouts with 22 saves in the No. 9 Mustangs’ 6-0 win over Waconia on Jan. 25 and 13 saves in Breck’s 2-0 win over No. 17 Luverne on Jan. 27.

“Our defense has improved incredibly since last year,” Abbott said. “That’s helped us a lot. We recognize as a team that getting the puck deep is what’s going to help us most. We have speed on the team, so we use it to our advantage most of the time.”

The Breck penalty kill has been superb with a percentage of 88.3 percent. It hasn’t allowed a power-play goal in its last seven games.

“We’re young, so we can take dumb penalties,” Luoma said. “We have to be able to kill those off. A lot of it is having an active stick, putting your stick in lanes and making them think twice before they make a pass. As a team, [we’ve been] working on our defensive zone for three years because for the first two years, we spent a lot of time in our D-zone. It needed to be strong so that we could get the puck out of the zone.”

Senior goaltender Mackenzie Abbott recorded back-to-back shutouts late in the season. (MHM Photo / Rick Olson)

Offensively, the Mustangs have been led by a newcomer to the program in eighth-grade forward Taylor Hall. Hall, who shares the same name as the former No. 1 overall pick in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft and is a former NHL MVP, leads Breck in goals with 14, assists with 17 and points with 31. She is averaging 1.35 points per game.

Hall spent last season with the Rogers Royals program. As a seventh-grader, she scored four goals and recorded five assists for a total of nine points with a team that has yet to make the Class 2A state tournament. Hall scored a goal against the Royals on Dec. 27, 2023, in Breck’s 4-3 loss to Rogers.

“The girls [at Breck] are very welcoming,” Hall said. “It’s always fun to play your old team.”

The Mustangs celebrate after eighth-grade defender Aleah La Fleur scored the first goal of the game at 13:46 of the first period in Breck’s 2-0 win over Luverne on Jan. 27. (MHM Photo / Erik Nelson)

With only four seniors on the team, Hall said Breck’s youth and positive team chemistry have led the Mustangs to more wins than losses this season.

“Before our 6:45 [p.m.] practice, we all go get Starbucks, hang out at the rink and do homework,” Hall said. “We all support each other off the ice.”

Breck is on a five-game winning streak and has won nine of its last 10 games. The Mustangs haven’t lost consecutive games since late December and hope to return to the Class 1A state tournament for the first time in four years.

“We have a great mix of senior leadership and middle school players,” Luoma said. “It’s been a fun challenge for these two groups to find their way on and off the ice. It’s a fun time to be a Mustang. We put the work in. I’m proud of the players and the coaching staff.”

To view more photos: Gallery – Breck Girls Hockey

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Breck captures second-ever state championship with a 3-2 OT win over Warroad

St. Paul — For the first time in six years, the Class A state title game had to be settled in overtime. Funny enough, that’s exactly how the Breck  Mustangs won their first state title in 2012.

After a valiant comeback by the Warroad Warriors, the Mustangs needed just eight seconds of overtime to capture the Class A championship, with a dramatic 3-2 win.

It was the fastest ending to an overtime in Minnesota State High School State Tournament history.

After the Mustangs won the opening draw, they skated into the Warroad end and freshman Sadie Lindsay threw a puck on net and just like that, the underclassman had the overtime winner; crowning Breck the champions in Class A. The freshman said it was a dream come true.

“It was one of the greatest feeling of my life, honestly,” Lindsay said. “To win the state championship has always been a huge dream of mine and it’s a dream come true to win.”

Lindsay wasn’t the only underclassman who played a large role in her team’s success as goaltender Uma Corniea, just a seventh grader, made 25 saves in the win. Every time the camera panned to her on the Xcel Energy Center jumbotron, there was always a big smile cracked around her face.

“I was always play better when I’m smiling,” an ecstatic Corniea said after the win. “And just life is better when I’m smiling, so I just like smiling I guess. And it just helps me be confident in the net.”

When the puck dropped to open the first period, it looked to be all Mustangs as they had eight shots on net in the first five minutes of play. Yet Warriors goaltender Quinn Kuntz stood stall making save after save. Both teams also had power plays in the first period but weren’t able to convert. Breck ended up having 14 shots on net by the first intermission.

The Mustangs came out with the same fire in the second period and two minutes into the frame, sophomore Olivia Mobley found the back of net, giving her team a 1-0 lead. Mobley’s goal was assisted by freshman Emily Zumwinkle. It was Mobley’s fourth goal and team-leading eight point of the tournament. Breck was able to get a couple more power plays but Warroad’s penalty kill was superb, keeping things contained at a one-goal game.

It was an uneventful start to the third period, but the final five minutes of regulation was when pure chaos erupted. The Warriors would finally get on the board via the power play when junior Kaitlyn Kotlowski blasted a shot from the point and things were tied at one.

Just shortly after the tying goal, Lindsay streaked in a on 2-on-1, and it appeared she scored the go-ahead goal; crashing hard into the net. But after video review, it was determined that net came off its moorings when the puck passed the goal line, therefore it was waved off. On the ensuing faceoff after the waved-off goal, Mobley batted a loose puck into the back of the net and Breck had a 2-1 lead with 2:30 left in regulation.

With Warroad trailing and a championship on the line, the team pulled Kuntz for an extra-attacker. Breck had a chance to seal the deal with an empty netter but they instead were called for an interference penalty and the Warriors now had a 6-on-4 advantage. That’s when sophomore Marlie Johnston netted an equalizer, sending things to overtime and once again the Warriors were right back in it

“I thought we had a good third period,” Warriors head coach David Marvin said. “We were fortunate to still be in the game at that point. We thought we were one shot away. We battled hard.”

Despite surrendering two leads in the final five minutes, Mustangs head coach Rhonda Engelhardt knew the game was far from over.

“I wanted to make sure they were still confident,” Engelhardt attested. “The game wasn’t over, we still had it, go out there and give it everything you got. That was the theme was to just go out there and we’re not done, were going to win this game and they needed to believe that.”

And Breck did exactly that. Even with a younger core of star players, they did not waver in the biggest games of their lives.

With so many talented players at such a young age, it appears the Breck Mustangs will be a force to be reckoned with for years to come in girls hockey.

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No. 2 Breck vs. Proctor/Hermantown

Breck’s Olivia Mobley (Tim Kolehmainen / Breakdown Sports USA)

The Breck Mustangs galloped their way to a 6-0 win over the Proctor/Hermantown Mirage on Friday to advance to  Saturday’s Class A Championship Game.

Breck’s depth was too much for the Mirage to handle, as eight different players appeared on the score sheet for the Mustangs.

“Yeah it was nice to see the theme continue,” Breck coach Rhonda Engelhardt said. “I think it helps when we have each line as a threat. We can just keep rolling everybody and everybody can stay fresh and work hard. We started to getting our stride, it was multiple people scoring, we don’t have to rely on one person to help us get those points.”

Breck got off to a fast start. Within the game’s first eight minutes, they fired 10 shots on net – while also not allowing a shot on goal. Eventually their hard work paid off as freshman Emily Zumwinkle netted the game’s first goal, with assists going to Gabby Billing and Olivia Mobley. By the end of the first period, Breck had outshot Proctor/Hermantown 17-1.

After being heavily outplayed in the first period, the Mirage looked like they started to figure things out. They drew a power play 12-seconds into the second period and fired plenty of pucks on net but weren’t able to score. They ended up taking a penalty and the Mustangs capitalized with sophomore Ashley Halverson netting a power-play goal to make it 2-0. Shortly after Halverson’s goal, she fed Zumwinkle to the front of the net and the freshman had her second goal of the game as Breck took a three-goal lead.

“I couldn’t have done those goals without my teammates,” Zumwinkle said following her performance. “They made awesome passes on all of them. It’s an awesome feeling being at the state tournament because it’s our first time in six years and I think we all just worked really hard to get here and it’s an exciting moment.”

As the period winded down, the Mustangs added another to their tally when eighth grader Shae Messner crashed the net and Breck lit the lamp for the fourth time.

They would add two more goals in the final period of regulation, with Mobley and Luci McGlynn finishing the scoring for the Mustangs.

Although Hermantown fell short of their goal of a state championship, senior Kennedy Halverson is extremely proud of her team’s effort.

“Well it was kind of like a dream come true,” Halverson said. “A lot of people underestimated us and didn’t think we’d make it to this point. And I don’t think we played a bad hockey game today, I just don’t think we played our regular game. We worked hard and I’m incredibly proud of our team no matter the outcome.”

No. 1 Warroad vs. Alexandria

Warroad’s Genevieve Hendrickson (Tim Kolehmainen / Breakdown Sports USA)

The Warroad Warriors are no strangers to the state tournament.

It’s their ninth appearance in the tourney since 2006 and they’ll have a chance to claim their third Class A championship in this decade – but their first since 2011 – after their 7-1 win over the Alexandria Cardinals.

“This group hasn’t played in one,” Warroad coach David Marvin said. “So it’ll be fun and it’s exciting for them; they’ve worked really hard. We know what it’s like to lose the semi-final game the last couple years. The early games on Saturday’s not much fun. Sometimes you got to fail before you succeed, I guess.”

Warroad entered play having recorded shutout in six of their last seven games. Yet that didn’t matter for Alexandria, as they got on the board first when freshman Anna Doherty found the back of the net, with assists going to McKenna Ellingson and Allison O’Kane. But their lead wouldn’t last long as Hannah Corneliusen tied things up for the Warriors. It was Corneliusen’s 39th goal of the season.

It looked like a troublesome situation for Alexandria in the early stages of the second period as they drew two penalties for, too many players and hooking which gave the Warriors a 5-on-3 advantage for two minutes. However, Cardinals netminder Hailee Bailey stood tall making a barrage of saves and the team was able to kill off the penalty.

Shortly after they returned to even strength, freshman Genevieve Hendrickson streaked in a on a breakaway and beat Bailey giving Warroad a 2-1 lead. In the closing minutes of the second frame, the Warriors were able to convert on the power play when defenseman Kaitlyn Kotlowski ripped a shot from the top of the point and Warroad had led 3-1

In the final minute of the period, the Warriors drew another penalty with Corneliusen scoring seven-seconds into the man-advantage for her second goal of the game and the team skated into the second intermission up 4-1.

Despite the time off between periods, Warroad didn’t skip a beat in the third with Hendrickson, Tiffani Foster and Kotlowski netting goals in a five-minute span and securing the win.

Losing to powerhouse like Warroad can sometimes humble a losing team, but Alexandria head coach Molly Arola wasn’t pleased one bit with her team’s play.

“It was just having some issues between our ears tonight and in our heart,” Arola said. “And we weren’t able to bring our “A game” physically or mentally.”

Despite the Warriors nearly averaging six goals per game, Marvin envisions the title game being a more sound hockey game.

“Well I would bet it’d be lower scoring,” predicted Marvin. “Because they got a good goaltender – and actually they got two; I’m not sure who will play for them – and we have a good goaltender. It was lower scoring when we played them earlier in the year which seems like a long time ago now. I think it should be fun, it will be a hard-fought contest.”

With Warroad’s win they’ll meet Breck for the Class A State Championship on Saturday at 4 p.m.

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Blake Wheeler has been a household name in Minnesota hockey circles for roughly half his life dating back to his high school days starring for Breck High School. Wheeler posted 100 points (45-55—100) as a junior in leading the Mustangs to the 2004 Class 1A state title with a hat trick in Breck’s 7-2 win over Orono.

The Plymouth native spent his senior season playing for the United States Hockey League’s Green bay Gamblers before embarking on a college career at the University of Minnesota. As a sophomore, Wheeler scored one of the most famous goals in Minnesota hockey history in a 2007 WCHA Final Five championship game win over North Dakota. His diving, sliding shot from his belly in the left circle popped up and over UND goaltender Phillippe Lamoureux at 3:27 of overtime made national news on ESPN’s SportsCenter.

Drafted in the first round (No. 5 overall) by the then Phoenix Coyotes, Wheeler is in his ninth NHL season with the Boston Bruins and the Atlanta Thrasher/Winnipeg Jets organization with more than 600 games and 400 points as a pro under his belt. His play earned him a spot on Team USA’s roster for the recent World Cup of hockey played in Toronto.

On Aug. 31, 2016, Wheeler’s 30^th birthday, the Jets named Wheeler the franchise’s second captain (Andrew Ladd) since its move from Atlanta to Winnipeg and its ninth overall.

Wheeler was kind enough to give Minnesota Hockey Magazine a few minutes of his time following Winnipeg’s 4-3 loss to the Minnesota Wild on Oct. 15 at Xcel Energy Center.

Now in your ninth season in the league, do you still get a little extra jump in your step playing where you grew up?

Always, yeah, I have great memories of this building pretty much at every level. It’s been a great place for me, it’s always nice to come back here and see friends and family. It’s always a great atmosphere too.

Speaking of the building, you scored, arguably, the most memorable goal in this place. What immediately comes to mind when you think back to that play?

It’ll be one of the more special moments in my career. Helping the University of Minnesota hang a banner was such a great honor. Whenever I think back on that goal it still gives me goosebumps, it was such a great moment.

Photo by Jeff Wegge for Minnesota Hockey Magazine

You’ve experienced a lot of success throughout your NHL career but things really took off for you in Winnipeg. What did that change do for you?

Well, you know, everyone kind of matures at different paces. I think around that time I grew up as a person as well as a player. I just kind of came into my own and was given a great opportunity by the Jets to play a lot of minutes, have a big role, a big responsibility, and I was able to make the most of it.

While the 2016 World Cup didn’t turn out the way you would have liked in terms of team success, what did that experience mean to you personally and what did you take away from it?

It was a great honor being selected. They have such a great pool of talent that they can choose from so to get the nod is always an honor.

What does it mean to a kid from Plymouth to be named captain of an NHL team?

It’s tough to really describe it. I think once it’s all said and done I’ll look back on it and pinch myself but I’m just enjoying it right now, I’m enjoying be a leader of a team and we have a great group of guys so it makes it a really fun job.

Story originally published in the November, 2016 issue of our digital magazine. For more stories like this, click HERE to view the November issue and subscribe to have future issues delivered directly to your email inbox. 

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Seventh time is the charm as Hermantown beats Breck for Class 1A title

St. Paul — Somewhere on the streets of St. Paul is a homeless monkey who once called Hermantown coach Bruce Plante’s back home.

Plante’s Hawks put an end to a six-season stretch of Class 1A state tournament runner-up finishes on Saturday afternoon in a resounding manner with a 5-0 win over the Breck Mustangs at Xcel Energy Center.

The sound of the final horn brought with it a mixture of excitement and relief for Plante, who hasn’t been able to escape the constant questions about when his team would finally skate away with a title. He jokingly admitted he was afraid of what would have happened to him if Hermantown had lost yet another state final.

“They’d have probably taken me out of here in a straight jacket or something because I just didn’t know if I could handle another loss in this game,”Plante said. “It would’ve pushed me over the edge.”

Hermantown’s Cole Koepke and Ryan Sandelin each had a goal and two assists and goaltender Luke Olson stood tall on the season’s biggest stage, shutting out the high-octane Mustangs with 23 saves.

It was only appropriate that Hermantown’s streak of disappointment would end where it began, facing the Breck Mustangs in the Class 1A championship game. The Mustangs beat the Hawks 2-1 in 2010 to win their second consecutive state title.

What wasn’t known at the time was it would be the first of four heartbreaking one-goal losses for Hermantown during the streak, including matching 5-4 overtime defeats at the hands of St. Thomas Academy in 2011 and East Grand Forks in 2015.

So the pressure has been mounting on the Hawks with each trip to St. Paul but Hermantown senior captain Wyatt Aamodt said the players tried their best not to worry about it too much.

“We obviously felt it,” Aamodt said. “But we figured if we could jump on them early and pop a couple in and just keep rolling, we’d be fine.”

He was right and he personally saw to it as the first period approached the 10-minute mark.

Aamodt made a great play at the left point to hold the zone and get the puck to Sandelin who fed Koepke in the slot. His quick shot deflected off a Breck defender’s stick over Mustangs goaltender Linden Olness’ shoulder.

Less than three minutes later Hermantown took a 2-0 lead when Koepke and Sandelin combined on a gritty forecheck effort leading to Sandelin feeding Jesse Jacques who buried a shot from the left circle at 12:40 of the first.

Plante said this team was motivated by the streak rather than in fear of it and the players showed no sign of nerves prior to the game.

“They were going to get it, I could see it in their faces, I could see it in their eyes,”Plante said. “When they got out on there that first shift , you could just see, ‘We’re gonna make this happen.’ It was that kind of determination.”

Breck turned up the pressure on Hermantown late in the first period with near misses by Dalton Weigel and Mitchell Machlitt in the final two minutes, but the Hawks weren’t done yet.

Hermantown’s Brendan Baker chased down a dumped puck below the goal line and fed James Lindberg who snapped a shot from the bottom of the left circle just inside the far post.

“It was a great play by Baker to get it back to me,” Lindberg said. “I just saw a little hole up top and I figured you might as well go for it, it’s the state championship game.”

If there’s such a thing as a back-breaking goal in the first period, that was it.

“3-0 is a lot better than 2-0, you know how they say a two-goal lead is the worst thing in hockey,” Lindberg said. “And to get that three nothing lead that was a big pick-me-up after that.”

Logan Judnick added a second period goal and Sandelin notched a shorthanded tally in the third to provide the final margin.

Olson was outstanding, especially in the second period when he made nine saves including successive right pad stops on Weigel and Will Torgerson near the six minute mark. He also benefited from Tyler Scott’s shot clanging off the left post with just under seven to go in the middle stanza.

“Luke’s never let us down one time this year,” Aamodt said. “Every big game, you know, he’s stood on his head for us.”

Plante said Olson has not had a bad game in two years in the Hermatown crease.

“He’s just calm and he’s cool and when he gives up a bad goal he gets better,” he said.

For Plante, the win is one of the greatest moments in his hockey life.

“The first time we went to state was awesome and when we won the state in ’07 it was great because it was the first time our program had ever done that,” Plante said. “But with all these six times in a row, and all the mounting stuff that goes on with that and a lot of things that get said and what not, I just wanted it over with really. These Kids took the bull by the horns and grabbed it and went with it.”

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Hermantown wins elusive state title with 5-0 win over Breck.

[See image gallery at minnesotahockeymag.com]

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