Sophomore Linden Olness has played with veteran poise in his first season starting between the pipes for Breck and has proved troublesome for rival Blake this season.
He stopped 32 of 33 shots in two regular season games and posted a 22-save shutout as the top-seeded Mustangs defeated the fourth-seeded Bears 4-0 in the Class 1A, Section 2 semifinals Tuesday night at Parade Ice Garden in Minneapolis.
“It’s always a tough atmosphere in the sections,” Olness said. “We fought through some adversity missing a guy, so I was happy with how we played.”
Ranked No. 2 in the Class 1A coaches’ poll, Breck (23-3-1) advanced in the section tournament without second-leading scorer Mitchel Machlitt.
Facing Blake for the third time, Mustangs coach Les Larson was expecting a tough fight.
“They throw the kitchen sink at you,” Larson said. “I don’t think we were totally on tonight, but we fought through it.”
Olness' play anchored the Mustangs early, weathering 10 shots in the opening period while the Bears (14-13) remained in striking distance.
“We told (Olness) at the beginning of the season, “All you have to do is play good' ", Larson said. “We have good defensemen and our forwards come back, but he played really solid tonight.”
Larson argued an icing call in the third period, which allowed the Mustangs to maintain focus on the game.
“I’m glad (Larson)'s that emotional about the game and sticking up for us,” Olness said. “We had guys at the faceoff - we weren’t worried about the call - and were just laughing, cracking jokes.”
Larson’s selflessness was also evident after the game, when he carried Brandon Leitz’s bag out of the locker room. Leitz sustained an injury during the game.
The Mustangs face Delano in the section finals for a chance to advance to their sixth state tournament in the past seven seasons.
“(Blake) came out and tried to be physical with us, and I thought we handled that well,” Larson said. “It was hard for us and it was hard for them, but we’re happy to advance to the finals.”