Breck girls hockey played two games last week to complete its regular season, beating Pine City Area on Jan. 30, before losing to Duluth Marshall on Feb. 2.
Pine City
Breck opened last week with a blockbuster 6-4 win over visitors Pine City Area on Jan. 30 at Breck’s Anderson Ice Arena.
Breck entered the Jan 30 game on a five-game winning streak and nine wins from its last 10 games. But, Pine City Area had their own accolades. Like Breck, Pine City Area had won its conference, the Mississippi 8. The visitors also had won their last four games, outscoring opponents 12-4.
The Mustangs got off to a strong start, scoring the opening goal after six minutes thanks to Torrin Luoma, whose deflected shot gave Breck a well-earned goal. Pine City, relying on limited chances from quick transitions, suddenly made it 1-1 just a minute later with their second shot of the game.
Two more goals came for Breck from Lauren Strothman and Alexis Ulrich, both strong hits from a distance on power plays, to make it 3-1 at intermission. Breck had every reason to be happy with the scoreline, also up 13-5 on shots. There was, however, a sense in the air that Pine City could and would do damage with their small but potent collection of shots.
Pine City scored the first goal of the second period, putting prolonged pressure on the Breck goal before making it 3-2. The second period, however, proceeded in a generally similar way to the first. Breck responded with two goals from Strothman and Mackenna Schlieman, the prior off rebound following a save and the latter was a great individual goal following the puck striking the frame.
Now up 5-2, Breck remained in control. But, with a full period of hockey left to play, Pine City was far from done for the day.
An early third-period mistake by Breck goalie Mackenzie Abbott, who played the second half of the day after Brynn MacKinnon started, gave Pine City a third goal to reignite the game. Pine City put on the pressure, scoring a fourth eight minutes later on a power play.
Breck was now under serious pressure with just one goal keeping them ahead. The Mustangs managed to kill two penalties, surviving an ever-hungrier Pine City, who were now close to even with Breck on shots. Abbott, intent to make up for previous errors, completed impressive save after impressive save.
With 16 seconds left, Schlieman managed to get a shot off into the empty net of Pine City, making it 6-4 and ending the game, allowing the collective held breath at the rink to release. Aleah La Fleur led on the points for the night with three assists.
Breck girls hockey head coach Tricia Luoma said the result reflected both strengths and areas in need of improvement for Breck’s young team. The Mustangs entered the season with many in and outside the team considering the squad a project due to its youth.
“They need to believe ni themselves. They need to consistently put together three periods of a hockey game and that’s something we’ve struggled with,” Luoma said. “That might be some of the youth shining through but it’s just about showing up every period and being consistent.”
While there were critical takeaways to have from the hard-fought win, Breck also showed the ability to navigate their way through a gritty game on Tuesday, a positive that Luoma took note of.
“Sometimes they need reminders of what they’re capable of,” she said. “I think it’s good for them to get into situations, into gut checks, where things don’t all go our way. I don’t think that needed to be a 6-4 game but Pine City didn’t give up. Teams aren’t just going to hand you a win on Tuesday night. You have to earn it.”
Duluth Marshall
Breck ended its 2023/24 regular season with a 6-4 loss t on Feb. 2 to Duluth Marshall in Duluth, cementing its regular season overall record at 18-7-0.
Strothman and Ulrich scored early goals for Breck to make it 2-0, but a Marshall surge eventually made it 5-2 going into the second intermission. Breck again found goals, this time two for Schlieman, to make it a close game. Marshall scored one late to widen the gap and survive the Breck comeback.
Strothman’s participation in the game against Duluth Marshall saw the seventh-grade forward reach the 50 career points mark for Breck.
Breck girls hockey took part in the Section 5A tournament the following week as the No. 3 seed, hosting No. 6 Princeton-Becker-Big Lake on Feb. 7. If the Mustangs win, they would then face No. 2 Mount Westonka/Southwest Christian, who had a first-round bye, on Feb. 10 at Thaler Ice Arena.
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