Breck girls hockey lost in the Section 5A semifinals last week. The team opened with a 5-1 victory against No. 6 seed Princeton/Becker/Big Lake on Feb. 7 in the quarterfinals, before losing 3-1 to No. 2 seed Mound Westonka/Southwest Christian on Feb. 10 to conclude the 2023/24 season.
Princeton/Becker/Big Lake
Third-seed Breck girls hockey opened the Section 5A tournament by hosting Princeton/Becker/Big Lake.
The Princeton-led co-op struggled in conference play this season, finishing bottom of the Mississippi 8 Conference with a 0-6 record. The team picked up five wins in non-conference play, the last of which came in their final regular season game, a 3-0 win over Prairie Centre.
Breck’s win was a tale of patience. The girls dominated the stats from the start, quickly finding early shots and eventually collecting 12 in the first period. A remarkable performance from Princeton junior goal tender Alayna Boe, however, meant that Breck saw shot after shot come to nothing.
With the period looking set for a surprise 0-0 scoreline, Breck finally broke through with a power play goal from Maggie Wallander which ricocheted its way into the net and made it 1-0.
The second period proved to play out similarly, with Boe now adding 21 more saves against Breck. The Mustangs, however, utilized their problem-solving skills to score two power-play goals, both from Lucia Juenke, to make it 3-0.
Breck’s lead was secure heading into the back half of the final period, but Princeton/Becker/Big Lake’s defensive efforts were complimented by a power-play goal with five minutes left. Wallander scored her second goal, the only even-strength goal of the game, soon after to conclude the game at 4-1.
The final shot count was 49-8 in Breck’s favor, concluding a hard-fought night of frustration, triumph and potential.
Mound Westonka/Southwest Christian
The Mustangs then fell short on Feb. 10, losing 3-1 to Mound Westonka/Southwest Christian to conclude their season in the Section 5A semifinals.
The White Hawks, the second-seed team in Section 5A, finished second in the Wright County Conference this season with a 6-1 conference record, 17-7-1 overall. They entered the post-season with back-to-back losses to Holy Family and Proctor/Hermantown, but had held a seven-game winning streak mid-season.
Mound Westonka scored one goal each in the first and second periods to build a small but clear lead over Breck. The Mustangs did find a response in the third, scoring through Taylor Hall on a power play.
Mound Westonka made sure to root out any comeback, scoring in the final minute of play to make it 3-1 and end the Mustang’s season.
While the story ended, or at least paused, for the new-look Breck girls hockey team, the 2023/24 season will go down as one with its share of positives. Breck won its conference and earned a 19-8 overall record with a roster featuring six middle schoolers and seven high school underclassmen.
Boys hockey
The Mustang boys opened last week with an 11-1 regular season win over Northern Edge at home on Feb. 6. Breck also recently clinched the Independent Metro Athletic Conference title, having already played their full conference schedule to a 4-2 record.
Nate Miller, Paddy Greene, and Ben Amato scored two goals each in the dominant win. Liam Devlin, Colton Engelsma, Garrett Trench, Oliver Kadue, and Jack Drawz all scored one goal each.
The Mustangs ended the week with a 7-4 win over Hopkins on Feb. 8, adjusting their overall record to 13-10-1. Amato scored two for Breck, with Zach Huotari and Engelsma adding one each. Breck outshot Hopkins 50-31 and both teams received seven penalties.
Breck boys hockey will play one game next week, traveling to play Rochester Lourdes on Tuesday, Feb. 13.
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